The Edge of Dawn
by Thy Name is Black
Summary: Remake of Against All Odds: The proud Xiaolin Dragons have protected the land for centuries, but a change now comes carried upon the breath of the wind. A little girl with an unusual gift must not only find her place among them, but find her place within the very world that hates her for who she is.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I do not own XS. This work is entirely fanmade.**

One_ What Papa Always Says

The yells of rioters filled the air as dawn approached. Red billows chased away the murky black, slicing through it like claws as day once again attempted to break free of the horizon. The freedom was short lived. The sun only just winked its eye above the shallow fields of the valley before it was swallowed up by a thick blanket of thunder clouds crawling up from the west. The muted blue and harsh grey collided like two rival armies above the rising and gruesome glowing face of the flames as they licked the sky.

The smell of burning flesh stung Tala's nose, though the screams of the fire's victim were drowned out by the villagers who cheered on her death. They were ignorant to the flashes of lightning that crackled across the yawning dawn, snapping like a thousand whips as the clouds trumpeted their warning of the rain and wind that had not yet arrived.

The child stood stunned and silent, her eyes unable to be pulled away from the yellow glow that was once her mother. Her father had snatched her away from the crowd as they swarmed the woman now tied to the stake. He did not give them the chance to have her daughter. The two had already disappeared over the hill overlooking their village before the angry men could turn their eyes to Tala, but her mother's fate was already decided and her father could do nothing but help his child escape.

Tala's father had done all that he could to keep her from seeing her mother's death but now his back was turned toward their cart and donkey, and Tala's eyes were upon the flickering light at the bottom of the hill. As if under a trance, her eyes focused on the light, the rest around it blurring. The mens' yells buzzed in her ears like flies.

A witch, they had said.

The villagers had demanded her head when children began to die. Tala couldn't understand how this was her mother's fault. It was winter; many people died during winter. The frost had yet to cover the ground, but the wind was bitterly cold nonetheless. Even without snow, people were prone to die this time of year, especially children. Tala knew this as a fact. Her own sister had been buried the last year just before the ground softened and the ice melted. She just couldn't understand how her mother was to blame.

"A witch," she mumbled to herself, her own voice sounding surreal.

"She wasn't a witch," her father snapped over his back, tossing his axe onto the pile of sticks lying under the tarp, "I never want to hear you say that again."

"They said she was," Tala murmured, but her father didn't hear her. He came up behind Tala and yanked on her wrist.

Tugging her toward the cart, he told her "She was different, not like those _others_."

"Others?"

Her father knelt down, one hand on his knee and the other on her shoulder. "Tala, listen to me," he said. The steely blue of his eyes were intense with worry. "I want you to remember your mother as she was to you, no matter what anyone says. It does not matter what you hear, what you see, whatever happens. Your mother was a loving woman. She used her magic for good. For _good_, do you understand?"

Tala nodded, but she noticed his eyes darting, looking at her face. She wondered if he was looking for a memory of her mother there. After all, he didn't look like they did. He spoke a strange language sometimes too, and it showed when he talked. It was thicker on some days than others, especially when he was angry.

But today his brogue was thickened by sadness, choking him up when he lifted her onto the back of the cart and asked "Do you remember what Papa always says?"

"_Dá fhada an lá tagann an tráthnóna,_" she answered as he bundled the starchy cloak around her neck tightly.

"That's right," he encouraged her, "Never forget it. No matter how bad things get, alright?"

Tala hugged him, crushing her nose against his chest when he squeezed back "I don't want to leave you, Papa."

"We have to go," he answered, "We need to get you somewhere safe, even if I can't be there too."

* * *

"And you are certain that she is a hard worker?"

"Yes, she is," Tala's father was smiling in spite of the woman's skeptical gaze, "Tala has helped me gather firewood several a time. She's developed a strong arm."

Tala shied away from the burly woman whose eyes were too small and too close together for the girl's liking, like a pig. She shyly clung to her father's coat, hiding behind him as best she could while still being able to look at Sow face with wary eyes.

"She doesn't look strong," Sow face harrumphed, "bit too thin in the face. Looks sickly. You best not be handing off a burden to me; the Masters won't like that."

"I promise you," he said, placing an assuring hand behind Tala's head, "my girl will make a good worker for your masters. But, if you will not use her, I can find another place that will."

Sow face snorted. Gesturing toward Tala, she said "_Where_? The next monastery is over the Three Hills, a month's journey. Seeing how thin she is, the child wouldn't last a quarter of the walk. I'll take her, but she'll have to be a kitchen maid."

"Done," clipped her father, his jaw setting with a clench. He only ever did that when he didn't want to lose his temper.

Sow face looked at Tala, her flat nose turned up in scrutiny. "How old are you, girl?" she asked, "Speak up,"

"Eleven, ma'am," she answered, clinging more tightly to her father's clothes. She did not want to go with this woman, "And my name is-"

"I could give a horse's shit about your name," snapped sow face, to which Tala could feel her father tense, "I just need a hard worker. Can you do that for me?"

Tala vigorously nodded, trying her best not to rouse the pig lady's temper further. The woman snorted with a firm nod of her own, accepting Tala's silent answer. "Good," she said, "Now say goodbye to your father. We have work to do."

Sow face flicked her eyes back to Tala's father, their beadiness holding a glint of black disgust before she turned back toward the large temple gates.

Tala gave no second thoughts to her and grasped her father's back as tightly as she could. "Don't leave me, Papa," she begged, "Don't go away, I need you!"

He turned around and bent a knee, wrapping Tala up into his arms. "_A leanbh na páirte,_" he said, "_A Thaisce_, you must be strong now. It's a long road that has no turning, Tala. Nothing along it can stay smooth or rough for very long," He winked and brushed his knuckles under her chin, his steely eyes bright with gentleness; "so keep your chin up. Not all bad things last forever. I will come back for you when I find a better place for us both, but the roads down farther are too dangerous for my treasure to be wandering around in winter so you need to get along a while here without me. Can I trust you to be a brave, strong girl for Papa?"

Her Papa's face blurred at the edges when Tala began to cry. Nodding her head to answer, Tala threw her arms around his neck and wept, fearing that the shadow on his cheeks scratched her face for the last time. Into his ear she whispered " I love you, Papa."

_"Tá mo chroí istigh ionat, A Thaisce_," he answered, "And it always will be."

"Come on, girl," shouted Sow face from the gate, "Hurry up, we haven't got all day!"

Tala hiccuped when her father let go and re-tightened the collar of her cloak. "Now remember," he said, taking her face into his comforting hands, cold though they were, "No strangers. Listen to _her_ and keep your head down. I'll be back before you know it. Promise me you won't talk to anyone about your mother, yes?"

"Okay, Papa," she answered obediently, "I promise."

* * *

"Most call me Ma, but you'll be calling me Yuma 'till you've earned the right," said Sow face, "and you'll be answering to me, do you understand?"

Tala was too frightened to speak and too sad to pay Yuma her full attention. Her eyes wandered around the hall, taking in the smells of the kitchen just down the way and the sight of the shadows grappling with each other along the walls.

Pots were banging so loudly that they made Tala clench her teeth together. Her jaw hurt from it. She rubbed at it and noticed how cold and clammy her hands felt. Like death, she thought. She brought her hands to her face and blew into them to keep them warm with her breath. They looked like two freshly baked loaves that had fallen into the dirt. The sight of them made her want to pick at the black beneath her nails.

"Noticed yourself finally, did you?" snorted Yuma. She had stopped and turned when she noticed Tala's lagging, "you'll be given a bath soon with the rest of the girls, don't worry. Now keep up."

Tala kept her distance, but she could hear old Sow face muttering to herself: "Strange creature; too dark, too thin and too much hair. 'Sa wonder she survived to eleven already. In my girlhood, she'd be swinging by a tree for lookin' a bit too much like _them_."

Heat crept up Tala's neck hearing that. '_Them_,' she thought, '_Like the others Papa was talking about_?'

Now that she thought about it, her Mama's skin was dark too. She also had unnaturally red hair, but Tala's hair had been nothing but stark black for as long as she could remember, only... it curled tightly like Mama's did. Tala ran her fingers through the ringlets on her shoulders, feeling self conscious. Did she really look as strange as old Sow face was muttering? Would they really have killed her too if Papa hadn't sent her to this place?

"The Xiaolin temple has been standing for a thousand years," shouted Yuma over her shoulder as the sounds of the kitchen grew louder, "It's said to be one of the most beautiful structures in all of the southern provinces, second only to the capitol."

Yuma stopped dead short and grabbed Tala's arm. Tala had to stop herself from crying out; Yuma's grip was painfully forceful as she swung Tala around to her front. "But you, _little rat,_" laughed Yuma, "will only be seeing the beauty of the kitchen."

She tossed Tala inside. Tala quickly caught herself on the edge of the chopping table with both hands, stopping her nose just inches from a half-plucked chicken lying in a pool of its own blood. Tala looked back to Yuma, stunned and fighting back the urge to vomit over the smell of rust, the red dried to brown and matted where her hands had landed.

Yuma gave her a look over, a cocky smile spread across her piggy face. "Make sure you put your hair up," she scoffed, "Don't want you dirtying the food."

She left without another word, her large form disappearing faster than Tala could register what had just happened. She looked down at the table, letting the red and brown blur together under the lenses of her tears. She fought to breathe, curling her fists, clinging to what little control she still had over herself. It wasn't fair! Her Papa should not have left her with that terrible Sow face! He should have-

"Are you alright?"

Tala quickly wiped her tears away, pulling up her sleeve to avoid smearing the blood all over herself. She saw a girl, pretty and full in figure. Her hair was pulled back into a braided bun so tightly coiled that Tala thought the girl feared wrinkles. She smiled at Tala.

"My name is Jia," she said, " I work here in the kitchens too. I can help you with your hair, if you'd like."

Tala gulped down her surprise, letting the tears that had already formed at her eyes fall down her face. She did not know what to say. She just stared at Jia, whose kind eyes reminded her of Papa. Jia pulled Tala's wrists gently toward her. "Here," she said, "Let me clean you up."

Jia took a cloth and dipped it into the water pan beside her. "Pay no mind to Ma," she said, wiping Tala's hands, "You can't imagine how hard it is to be in charge of a hundred girls; everyone expects her to know what to do, giving the orders and all. Not to mention the Masters' demands for keeping the Temple spotless. If she isn't on our case, she isn't doing her job. She's a bit rough but she means nothing by it, really. You'll get used to her, I promise, and she'll warm up before you know it, too."

Jia kept on chattering, but Tala was not really listening. She was too preoccupied by Jia's ability to talk so fast, like a bird. Jia pulled out the stool from behind her, the gritting sound bringing back Tala's attention.

"We have to tidy up your hair," Jia explained, "Ma wasn't joking about that. The last girl who dropped her hair into the warriors' food was dismissed."

"That's a strange rule," muttered Tala, not very happy about the prospect of having to tie her hair back as tightly as Jia's, "Not very _fair._"

Jia smiled widely and far too happily. "So you _do_ speak!" she laughed, taking Tala's hands back with excitement, "And here I thought Ma'd brought me a mute!"

"Sorry," Tala ripped her hands away, offended and embarrassed, "I didn't mean to-"

"Oh, no," Jia interrupted quickly. Her elated smile flipped to a worried frown, "I should be the one apologizing. You've just left your family and I'm sitting here making fun of you."

Tala glared at her assumption. Even though she was right, Tala could not help the feeling that Jia had some sort of hidden motive..."You have _no idea_ what happened to me," she said, clenching her fists.

"Are you angry?" she asked, her frown deepening, "I honestly didn't mean it. I tend to lose track of my tongue. Ma always tells me to keep quiet in front of the men because of it."

Men. Tala shuddered at the word. She saw what men could do when they were angry. They hardly seemed human.

Jia rolled up her sleeves and scooted closer to begin working on pinning up Tala's bangs. Tala held her breath at the shocking sight of deep scars running across them; three on each arm. Jia noticed her stare and smiled unconvincingly, saying "I had a little brother. The people in my village called him simple. He was often chased down and beaten by the other boys."

She moved to the back and gathered up Tala's hair, skillfully keeping Tala's bangs up between her fingers while doing so and began braiding. "They chased him back to the farm one day. He was crying. That wasn't very unusual, but instead of chasing him with sticks, the boys had knives. I didn't want them to hurt him so I ran after them with my broom. Silly of me, using a broom against three near-grown boys, but it was all I could do to protect him."

She fell silent and kept working. Tala felt a shift in the air, a stillness like the trees in winter. She didn't want to ask, but- "What happened?"

Jia swallowed, twisting the braid into a bun tightly, making Tala wince when she rounded it out on the top of her head. "They pinned me down," said Jia, swallowing her emotions, "and they cut me. One slice on both arms for each boy I offended… My father said that I was lucky they didn't do more. He said they were generous, that _he_ would have done worse."

Anger flash fired up Tala's back. What kind of papa could say such a thing? Who could just let their children get hurt and not do anything? _Her_ Papa would never-

The kettle on the pot stove screamed and shot into the air, slamming into the ceiling. The clay shattered, spraying the kitchen with scalding rain. The girls ducked, covering their heads.

Jia rushed over to clean it up, "Must've not heard the warning whistle," she said, "I'm sorry, dear. Scared you to near death. Are you alright?"

Tala didn't answer. She was too stunned. She stared at the broken pieces now gathered up into the net of Jia's apron as she cleaned up the rest.

"Ah, near forgot," laughed Jia, dumping the clay into a bin. She brushed at her apron, the clay dust streaking it brown from her wet fingers. She looked up at Tala with a cheery grin, "In all the excitement, I forgot to ask you. What's your name?"

"Tala," she answered, her heart racing with dread. Did she really just do that? She swallowed, her throat scratching against itself with dryness.

"Pretty name," Jia remarked, wiping off the rest of her hands with a rag, "I'm not familiar with it, though. Is it common in your village?"

"No,"

"Suits you, then," Jia answered, bringing the rag over to Tala, "An uncommon name for an uncommon girl."

She handed it to Tala with a smile and said, "I hope we can get to know each other better."

Tala jumped up, panicking. "I'm sorry," she stammered, bowing quickly.

She rushed past Jia, trying her hardest not to begin crying again, passing the outside columns toward the animal pens. The world around her was a blur. She shut everything out, ignoring the protests of the women she ran past until she was finally alone in an adjacent courtyard.

Her refuge was small, just a simple rectangle plot with a willow tree, but it was silent and secluded. Tala collapsed at the roots of the willow, crying into her knees. She just wanted to go home; to be safe and happy with Mama and Papa. It wasn't right! Her mother didn't do anything!

Tala hugged herself tightly, fighting herself to not make too much noise, though she desperately wanted to scream. It wasn't fair. She just wanted to be normal. She never asked for any of this. She never asked to be different.

And there Tala sat, underneath the willow tree with the cold wind nipping at the back of her neck. She was sad, afraid, and despairingly alone. She had not a friend in the world.

* * *

**AN: This is the first chapter of the rewrite of my trilogy. I hope you guys can bear with me while I redo everything. This one will be a lot longer than the first, since I'm changing things for both the main plot and the subplots, as well as different character goals. Tala's story is basically like any other coming-of-age hero story in accepting yourself for who you are, but I hope that she as a character can stand apart from the average Jane. **

**This chapter was a bit boring, I can admit, but it does pick up in the next chapter, so I hope you don't write it off from this introduction. **

**Thank you,**

**TNIB**


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I do not own XS. This work is entirely fanmade.**

_Two_ The Brave Girl and The Warrior Boy_

Buzzing.

That was all she could hear, buzzing.

There was lightning in the distance, nipping at the rays of the sun poking through behind the clouds, but there was no thunder, just the angry buzzing. It grew louder and louder, filling Tala's senses to the point where she could barely breathe and still it went on. The buzzing drowned out everything, even the sound of the rain.

A hand yanked her back by the shoulder and Tala turned to see her mother. Her half moon eyes squinted their silver light her way as she bent down with arms spread wide to scoop Tala up into her arms.

Mama was so beautiful, like the mountain women she often told Tala about in her nighttime stories: stories of the Mountain clan, of brave warriors and of ancient magic. She always seemed to glow with the radiance of those stories.

Tala embraced her mother tightly, letting her warmth soak in. "Where did you go, Mama?" she asked, "Papa and I went away. I couldn't find you."

"What are you _talking_ about, my Morning star?" laughed her mother, "I'm right here,"

Tala let go, sensing that something was wrong. She smelt burning flesh. The flies began buzzing again and she felt the heat of an open flame wash over her. She screamed as flames overtook her mother. They ate at her clothes, rotting them away into black ash. They devoured her red curls and licked at her skin as if it were honey, yet Tala's mother smiled at her without even a flinch. She said, as her skin began to melt away, "I will _always_ be here."

* * *

Tala jumped up from her mat, shaking. The small bowls and utensils that were floating above her dropped to the ground and clattered around her mat. A fork even landed in her lap. Tala picked it up, catching her breath and clenching her shoulders to stop the shivering. Angrily, she threw it, letting it clatter against the stove.

_It had happened again_.

Three weeks of the same dream, waking up to the same things floating and then falling around her head. It was maddening! Why did this have to happen to her _now_? Why not when Mama was still alive? Why not when Mama could still help her?

Jia always woke up, too. And, like clockwork, tonight, she asked, in her sleepy haze from the other side of the bench, "Tala, is that you? What's happened?"

"I moved in my sleep," Tala lied, like she always did, "and knocked some things from the counter. I'm sorry to wake you. Go back to sleep."

"Well_, be more careful,_ then," was her bitter reply. Tala couldn't blame her. This had happened every night since her arrival, "and let me get some _sleep_ for once."

Tala laid back down and stared at the ceiling, listening for Jia's shallow breathing to start again, which did not take very long. It was a comforting sound. It reminded her of home, when she used to snuggle up between Mama and Papa and listen to her father's shallow snoring like a lullaby. But, tonight she did not need one.

Tala got up from her mat, careful not to disturb Jia again, and quietly slipped out toward the animal pens. The snow had fallen already, dusting the hard earth with a coating of white, like sugar on a sweet bun. Tala pulled the jacket over her night dress more tightly, instantly regretting her decision to go outside in the middle of the night.

Finally, she made it to her little courtyard. The full moon shone brightly through the empty branches of the willow. A ring was wrapped around it, calling forth more snow but with no clouds to aid it. The wind was bitter, but light as it blew past her ears and ruffled her hair. The air even smelled like winter and it hurt her lungs when she breathed in the sharp scent. Tonight was the night; she needed to settle this once and for all. She would have to teach herself on her own.

She looked at the crack in the wall across the courtyard. The roots of the tree had dug deep beneath the wall, splitting it up the middle in its weaker parts. There was a large gap in the middle where the root had pushed through- nature taking back what was rightfully hers, as Mama would have said. Tala loved that crack. She loved looking at it and imagining the things that lay beyond. What she loved most was the tiny glimpse of the world it gave her. Tala swore one day, once she'd gained the courage enough, she would climb through it and never look back.

But tonight was not such a night. She was here for another reason. She was here to practice magic. She needed to gain a firmer hold on it. She was sick of lying to Jia every night, of having to protect her face from falling knives every night and, most importantly, she was sick of feeling so afraid.

Tala had done as Papa ordered. She kept her head down and swallowed every command Sow faced Yuma gave her. She kept everyone, especially Jia, at arms length and still she was at risk of hurting people and exposing herself. If anything were to happen to Jia, if Tala were to get too angry, if everyone found her out, then… No, that was not going to happen. She would not wind up like Mama, not like in her dream. She could control it. She _would_ control it.

Tala gathered up some snow from the ground. The ice was so cold that it burned her bare fingers, but she rolled it into three balls and laid them down in a row in front of her. Tala took a breath and held it, second guessing herself. What if Jia hadn't really fallen back to sleep? What if she was followed?

Tala checked over her shoulder, scanning the shadows, but there was nothing there. It was just her and the rustle of the wind clattering against the willow's branches. She looked back at the three balls and released her breath, steadying her nerves.

"Alright, Tala," she whispered to herself, "You've tried this before. You almost got it last night, remember? You _are_ Mama's daughter, you can do this."

She closed her eyes and stretched out her hands. Her fingers were already numb, wet from the snow and freezing from the wind, but that didn't matter. She had to do this. She had to try.

Tala focused, waiting for her hands to feel the heat of magic again, to feel that fluttering bird in her lungs, to smell cloves and honey like her mother, to taste the orange on her tongue. It had happened before. She always woke up to that taste in her mouth, just before everything fell each night. She knew that she could do it. She had to.

She shocked herself with a sudden burn and whipped her arms back, sucking on her fingertips. She glared at the snowballs. One was half melted, but none had moved. She bent down, remade the one she melted, and tried again, this time not focusing on the heat of her magic, but on the _push_.

She slowly opened her eyes, trying desperately not to get her hopes up… Nothing. They still didn't move. She groaned, staring up at the moon. She always rather liked the moon. It reminded her of her mother's eyes. They were white like it was and shone just as brightly when she smiled. Papa said she had those pretty eyes too, but she never believed him. They were dull and sad and didn't shine at all. To Tala they were ugly and grey, not silver like Mama's.

She wanted to cry. She hated thinking about them like this. Tala just wanted to go home, to sleep on the floor mat again with her parents, not sneak around in the dark hiding herself from everyone else. She hated feeling so afraid and so alone.

Tala sat down on the root of the willow and sighed, staring at the three snowballs with contempt. "I hate you," she grumbled. Their faceless forms stared back at her, shining under the moonlight in a way that felt like they were mocking her.

"If Mama were here, you wouldn't be looking at me like that," she warned them, "She'd have tossed you so far away that you'd have hit a star by now."

They didn't respond, like she knew they wouldn't, but that didn't stop Tala from being frustrated. "Why can't I _move_ you?" she demanded, "This should not be so hard. I can do it in my sleep, so why can't I- ugh, it just isn't fair!"

She pounded her fists against her knees and the sudden, sweet taste of orange coated her tongue. She looked at them, her heart racing. All three snowballs were at her eye level.

"How did-" she said with awe. She began to smile, deciding it was best not to question herself, and slowly stood. The balls rose with her, staying at level with her head.

She reached out her hands and they floated down to hover above her palms, each bobbing like a hovering bird. "I can't believe it," she mumbled. Then louder, as her breath caught up with her heart, "I can't _believe_ it!"

She spun with her arms stretched out, the snow kicking up at her feet as the floating snow balls lifted up again and began dancing around her head. She swayed with them, making the tiny balls of ice intertwine with each other like leaves caught in the wind. Testing her limits, she raised them higher, spinning faster and faster below as they floated into the bare branches of the willow. She did it! She _finally _did it!

There was a snap of twigs and she dropped them instantly, her heart plummeting to the ground as fast as her frozen playthings. Tala gasped with surprise when her eyes met those of a smiling boy.

For an instant, she could see that he was tall and dressed in the winter robes of a third rank warrior, one of high reverence. His slick hair had been swept back, grown out into the latest fashion of the southern cities. He gave a small chuckle at her surprise but Tala did not want to stick around to see the rest of him.

Tala lunged for the wall crack, sprinting as fast as any little girl could.

"Wait," he called, but she would not listen. She was also too slow. The boy snatched her up, his grip on her arm like the iron clasp that would soon be around her wrist if she could not get away.

"Let go of me!" cried Tala, clawing at his fingers.

He snatched her other hand, pinching her fingers in his crushing palm. "Stop it," he scolded, "I won't hurt you."

"No!" she screeched, thrashing against him, kicking and fighting for escape.

He grunted when she nicked his shin. "You are a _feisty_ one, aren't you," he grumbled, letting go of Tala's hand to wrap his arm around her. The boy pulled her close to smother her wriggling, folding her arms together in place. "Now, be quiet or we'll wake the entire Temple."

"Let me go," she wailed, "let go!"

"Shh," he said, "not so loud!"

She stopped her yelling but tried her hardest to bury under his arms. He held on tightly, restricting her when he noticed. He growled and hooked the back of Tala's ankle with his foot, sending her to the ground.

He was practically on top of her, making the girl cry out again. She thrashed all the harder, squaring her shoulders to wiggle free. She kept her eyes closed tightly as she fought, using all of her might in the struggle.

He held her shoulders tightly. "Enough," he said.

Tala ignored him and continued struggling. He shook her, his nails digging into her arms.

"Enough!" he said again.

She sucked in breath and opened her eyes, her chest wheezing with rattling fear. The cold air made it all the harder to breathe. She looked at him, her throat dry and scratchy as she hiccuped back her overwhelming panic.

His eyes were amber, pale and honey colored. This shade of brown was so strange, so vivid, that it hardly seemed real under his dark, long eye lashes. His lips were parted, hot breath hitting her face as he caught his own shallow breath. "What is your name?" he asked.

Tala's chest tightened. Her voice strained past his weight that suffocated her lungs, "Why does it matter?" she choked, "I'll be dead when the Elders find out, anyway."

The boy's large smile was charming. "You speak rashly for a little girl," he observed lightly; a joke that Tala did not understand, "Your name, brave girl. What is it?"

Tala set her jaw and glared at him.

"Do you _have_ one?"

She clenched her jaw harder.

He laughed and held her chin between his finger and thumb. "Careful," he chided, "you'll break your teeth that way."

She didn't care. Tala turned her head away, hot tears stinging her eyes and freezing on her cheeks. The snow at her back had melted and soaked through the thick wool of her dress. She shivered.

The boy sighed and sat up. "Look," he said, "I'm not going to force you, but you really should consider being more careful. If the wrong person saw you, he would have killed you."

"You aren't going to kill me?"

The boy's smile was no longer playful, but it was genuine. He reached out a hand to help her up. She hesitated, unsure, but took it and let him lift her off of the ground.

"I'm not the kind of man to kill a little kid," he told her.

"I'm eleven!" she protested.

"Exactly," he answered, pulling off his over coat. He wrapped it around Tala, pulling tightly around her neck to cover up the wet draft. "The last thing you need is to get sick, little sorceress," he explained when he noticed her staring at him warily.

He leaned in close to her ear as he finished the last tie below her chin. "If you want to return the coat," he whispered, "ask for Chase Young. Good night, brave girl."

He kissed her cheek and winked at her before sauntering off toward the gate.

"Wait," she called hesitantly, "Tala… My _name_ is Tala."

Chase did not look back but raised a hand in acknowledgement of what she said. Tala stood shivering in the cold, watching the strange boy with the strange eyes leave. Wrapped in his still-warm jacket, the girl wondered if she had just somehow made a friend or made a terrible mistake.

* * *

**AN: Introducing Chase Young, the strangest person Tala has ever met, which is saying something because her mom's a witch and her dad's a Celt. Anyway, two chapters down, eighteen more to go. I'm so excited for their interactions throughout the story. Chase especially is an interesting character to play around with and you'll be seeing why very soon.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: I do not own XS. This work is entirely fanmade.**

_Three_ Sewn Together _

The morning bell was loud and abrupt. Tala bashed her head on the low board of the counter, immediately dropping her head back onto the mat. This was quickly followed by a throbbing headache and a sore spot between her eyes. She groaned.

"Breakfast chore," said Jia as she briskly walked past Tala's mat carrying the pot of rice for the warriors' breakfast, "Put on an apron and help me serve. The other girls have already begun to prepare the bowls. We just need to bring the rice and eggs."

Tala begrudgingly picked herself up and quickly braided her hair, not bothering to tie the braid into Jia's signature bun. There was no time for that, not with Jia's commands still ringing painfully in her ears. She grabbed an apron, still dirty from yesterday, and flipped it over to its clean side before tying it around herself, her hands fumbling as fast as she could.

Jia returned to grab the second pot of rice, hissing into Tala's ear when she passed, "You're late! Hurry up and grab the last pot!"

Tala yanked the pot from the stove quickly but paused. A cold chill ran up her back. _He_ could be there. She looked at the blue jacket still neatly folded up on her mat from being used as her pillow for the night. What was his motive? What did Chase Young _want_?

"Tala!" Jia shouted from the hallway.

"Sorry!" Tala called back, realizing with a flash of embarrassment that she was being too slow. She ran, struggling to keep the lid on the large pot in her arms, racing to get to the dining hall.

* * *

The dining hall was brimming with men, their shouts and excited chatter flooding Tala's ears. About twenty other girls were already buzzing about, passing out bowls of eggs and rice. Tala was stiff as a board, practically clinging to the wall in the hopes that she was too small to be noticed so that Yuma would not call her out to serve the tea, which was to be placed out next.

Jia was beside her, calmly and obediently leaning against the wall awaiting orders. Tala snuck a peek up at Jia from the corner of her eye. She was staring down, being sure not to make eye contact with anyone walking past, as was customary of a serving woman.

However, her eyes were hard and her jaw was rigid. Tala could tell that something was wrong. She wanted to comfort her, and nearly lifted her hand to touch hers, but thought better of it. They could not be friends. It was safer for both of them that way.

Tala balled her hand into a fist, pushing down the urge to feel sorry for herself. It didn't _matter_ how she felt. Jia was the only person who cared about her in this place. She would not let herself hurt her.

"_Tea_," called Yuma, "Girls in the front, go."

Jia was the first out of the line to pry herself from the wall and marched into the back room to grab a tea kettle and a tray of cups. Tala watched her go, wishing that she could just _talk _to Jia, to let her know that Tala's coldness wasn't any fault of hers, but she just couldn't. She could not risk blowing her cover. She was more afraid of dying than she was losing her only friend.

"I _said_ girls in _front_, little rat," snarled Yuma, whacking Tala upside her head, "Make yourself useful!"

Tala fought the irresistible urge to glare at Yuma and did as she was told, dreading every minute of it. She snatched up one of the smaller teapots, hoping that she could serve it out quickly, then have to go back and get a new one before she could to run into Chase Young again. She wanted to avoid that boy at all cost.

Jia handed her a tray of empty cups and said "Get that table over there."

Everything in Tala stopped when she saw who was staring at her from across that table three rows behind. There he was, Chase Young, staring at her between the shifting bodies of the boys sitting between them. In the chaos of the dining hall, his was the only space that was still. His stare was like a dare, challenging her to look away. It was as though he was waiting on her next move.

Tala's entire body fought against shutting down and it shook from resisting that violent urge. The cups and pot rattled in her hands. Jia nudged her back with an elbow.

"Go on," she said, "unless you want to do the third table down. No one has served that one yet either."

"No, no," answered Tala, "I can do it."

She pried her eyes away from Chase and kept them to the floor as she shuffled toward her assigned table. The boy she served laughed at some clever joke his friend had just said and the others around him joined in. Even with the rather large boy braying like a donkey in her ear, Tala could not be distracted from the feel of Chase's stare at her back. She prayed that she could get through this quickly.

"Tala," Jia touched her shoulder to gain her attention. Tala turned to see that she was holding three trays- one on her shoulder, in the crook of her arm and on her flat palm, each perfectly balanced with empty tea cups, "You might have to get the third table after all. Ma's just run Xu Mei off for breaking a pot again so I'm stuck hitting her tables."

This morning could not be any worse. So much for quick; "Sure," Tala lied brightly as Jia handed her a newly filled pot, "I'd be happy to do it for you!"

Tala swallowed down all of her instincts to run away and walked toward Chase's table, keeping her eyes to the floor. She began at the end and with each cup she filled with the steaming tea. Her heart began to fill with dread the closer she got to Chase's seat, causing her feet to feel like lead.

She started to shake when she got to his seat. The tea splashed over the rim of the tiny cup in her hand as she poured. She tried desperately to avoid looking at him, her heart racing. Tala nearly jumped when he reached up and grabbed her hand to steady it. Chase helped her to pour the rest of the tea into his serving before taking it from her, and placing it in front of his rice bowl.

"Thank you," he murmured.

Tala could not help it; her eyes flickered up and met his, an automatic reaction to the sound. His mouth had been a hard line that relaxed into a smile when she looked at him. Tala could tell that he was frowning from the way his jaw had unclenched and the relief in his eyes that lit them up with shine when their eyes met. Why was he relieved?

Tala nodded and quickly looked back down, moving on to the next warrior beside him. Somehow, she felt a little relieved too.

* * *

She _had_ to return it.

Tala rubbed the hem of the jacket's sleeve between her finger and thumb as she worked up the courage, telling herself that the sooner she got this over with the better. She felt the fabric give way to her thumb and looked down at the sleeve. There was a hole in it. A rather _large_ hole. She must not have noticed it last night because the jacket had been so large on her.

She reached under her mat to pull out her sewing needle, though it was technically borrowed from Jia to mend her winter dress, and pinned it to the sleeve. Tala groped around for the thread she had also borrowed but seemed to have misplaced.

"Are you looking for this?"

Tala's spirit sank when she heard Jia's voice and reluctantly faced her. Jia was holding the thread spool that she had borrowed from her on the flat of her palm. She looked about as amused as Tala felt, a sour pucker to her lips sharpening the curves of her face with bitterness.

"Yes," Tala admitted, "I'm sorry for not asking to borrow it again, but I was told to mend this jacket and could not find any other thread… I just didn't want to be yelled at by Yuma again."

The lie was quick but thankfully believable. Jia's eyes softened but the anger in her face did not change. She held it out for Tala to grab. "Just be more quick with your duties next time," said Jia, a harsh sigh billowing out of her words, "and I'd _wish _you would talk to me. You have been avoiding me for weeks."

"I'm sorry," said Tala, accepting the spool.

"That's it, then," said Jia accusingly.

"It isn't you, Jia,"

"I'm glad we agree," she snapped. With one last baleful look before turning to leave she added, "Just be sure to put that thread and needle back when you're done."

"Jia!" Tala called after her, but Jia was made deaf by her anger. She left without looking back.

Tala could only blame herself. She was the one who pushed Jia away and now she was paying the consequences. Jia shared her life with her and Tala repaid that by avoiding her. It was a wonder it took this long for Jia to hate her. She deserved to in full.

It was a mistake letting her in even an inch closer than was necessary. Doing this was right. By letting Jia hate her, it kept Tala at a safe distance. She was mending the mistake of getting too close. It was lonely, but at least they were both in less danger.

With a sigh, she began working on the jacket. It was time to fix another mistake.

* * *

The heels of the grappling boys kicked up sand, spraying it everywhere in waves. One of the boys grunted when he landed on his back, flipped over by his adversary.

The training sands were still dusted in snow, the majority of it clustered around the high boulders in small piles like rings. The boys' breath fogged as they tried catching it in the freezing air. Though it was cold and color flooded his cheeks, Chase could feel sweat tickle his back.

He smiled down at Dashi, who was breathless and laughing. "You've seriously got it out for me," he said, grinning from ear to ear.

Chase reached down, offering a hand to help him up, "Have you had enough yet?" he asked with his own grin.

Dashi took his hand, their palms clapping with the enthusiasm. "You're _kidding _right?" Dashi asked, pulling himself up as Chase's weight anchored him.

He rubbed at the back of his bald head and Chase winced with sympathy. "Hope that doesn't bruise," he joked, "It'll look like you have a third eye on the back of your head."

"Because I bruise like a peach, right?" laughed Dashi. He stopped smiling and stared beyond Chase. "I think we have a visitor," he said, looking a bit confused.

"What?" asked Chase, turning. He felt a shiver of panic jump up into his chest when he saw that little girl waiting for them at the edge of the sands. '_No, no no_,' he thought, '_What is she doing here? She'll be caught_!'

"Crap," he muttered, kicking up sand as he went to greet her.

The little maid, odd as it sounded, appeared to get smaller as he approached. Her head sunk into her rigid shoulders, possibly bracing herself against the wind. She did not look at Chase as he approached, but hugged the package that she was holding all the more tightly. She looked frightened, and she should have been. If Master Young were near by he would have reported the girl to Yuma, who was, quite frankly, not well known for forgiveness nor kindness.

He was about to angrily express this to her, but she spoke up before he could. "Forgive me for being so informal, honored apprentice," she stuttered a little too loudly, "but I have come to return to you your jacket and I would like to give it back to you quickly then return to my duties."

Oh, right, his jacket. Chase wanted to turn the kid around and send her back, to tell her to think nothing of it, but she shoved it at him before he could again say anything. "Please take it," she insisted, "You were too kind to let me borrow it."

Chase sighed and put it on. He had to admit he felt better wearing it now that he had been in the cold without the extra layer.

He felt something knick his wrist and looked at the hem of his sleeve. There was a mend; a _bumpy_ mend, but the draft, at least, was no longer there to nip at his skin. He looked at the maid. _Tala_, he thought her name was, if he remembered correctly. He assessed her carefully, memorizing her featured, said "You fixed the hole."

Tala kept her eyes to the ground, for once in the conversation not breaking conduct, and nodded stiffly.

Chase couldn't help the smile. After their scrap last night, and her avoidance in the dining hall this morning, he'd thought she hated him. Maybe this was the opening he needed to be able to talk to her, to learn more about her magic. He had always been fascinated with the other arts and this little girl could hold the answers to all of his questions. "Thank you,"

Thank you, indeed. He now finally had the opportunity he was waiting for, but he would first need to find a way to gain her trust and worm his way into her world. And now, thanks to Tala's tiny act of kindness, he had an idea.

* * *

Another whack to the head woke Tala up. "Wake up," snapped Jia, "You have a visitor."

Tala glared at her, rubbing the ear Jia had just boxed, and groggily pulled herself from the mat.

Jia tossed one of the cleaner frocks at her and said "Put that on quickly before Yuma sees you."

`"Why is Yuma asking for me?" asked Tala, pulling the dress over her head.

"She isn't."

"Then who-"

Tala pulled her blanket up quickly when Chase walked in accompanied by another kitchen girl. The other maid, Xu Mei, she assumed, had a smile so broad that Tala thought her face might rip in half. "I'm sorry," said Xu Mei, barely able to keep herself from giggling, "but the honored apprentice insisted on coming in."

Chase was holding a bundle of clothes in his arms with a bright smile on his face to accompany it. "I need these all mended," he told her, dumping them all onto her lap, "and since you did so well with my jacket, I've decided to ask for your help again. Please get them done quickly."

"But I have other-" she began to protest, but a quick glare from Jia reminded Tala of the protocol. She lowered her eyes, clenching her jaw against wanting to yell at him. "I will do as you say," she told him, wringing one of the shirts' sleeves between her hands angrily.

"I'll come back to check on your progress," Chase said, still smiling. Tala could feel the skin of her hands burning. She took a breath to calm down and though she felt more in control she could still feel the heat pulsing in her palms. She clenched the cloth between them more tightly. '_Leave soon_,' she begged inwardly.

Her prayers were answered. With an awkward nod and an even bigger smile, Chase made his departure with Xu Mei close behind him, still giggling like a chittering monkey.

"So," said Jia with a sly smile once he and Xu Mei were out of earshot, "it was _his_ jacket you had to repair, huh?"

Tala threw herself onto her back with a frustrated grunt to answer her. Jia laughed.

"Well, no one said gaining favor from a Dragon apprentice would make things easier," said Jia, kneeling down to gather up the clothes now sprawled upon Tala's chest.

Tala shot up, letting the clothes Jia had yet to pick up fall back into her lap. "_He's_ a Xiaolin Dragon?" she squealed in disbelief, "_Him_?"

Jia shot a warning glare at her, "He's not a Dragon yet. None of them are," she said. Then with a playful whack to Tala's shoulder added, "And, don't _tell_ me that you had no idea about it! _Everyone_ knows who the Xiaolin apprentices are!"

Tala inched closer to her, eager to get more information on the boy holding leverage over her. "Which one is he?" she asked, eyes bright with enthusiasm.

"Fire," answered Jia, "The Keeper of Passion. He is also Master Young's son and the favorite to become leader of the Dragons some day. He is by far the one of the three with the greatest skill; possibly even the strongest Dragon apprentice in over five hundred years."

"_Fantastic_," This was not good news. It meant that if she were discovered, it would be the word of a powerful Dragon warrior, the darling of the Temple even, against hers- a dangerous witch who was still only a mere girl whose voice didn't matter. She felt doomed.

"Have you fallen for him?" teased Jia, her eyes crinkling with delight.

"_Never_!" Tala shouted, throwing a shirt at Jia, who screeched with laughter.

"I wouldn't mind if you did," giggled Jia, "All of the girls are woefully in love with the Dragon apprentices and Chase Young has the popular vote, much to Ma's grievance. Whenever he comes to this side of the Temple none of the girls get any work done."

"Are you one of them?"

"No," answered Jia, picking up one of the pants in her lap to begin sewing, "There is someone else in mind for me."

"I can do that," Tala suggested, referring to the sewing, but Jia pulled it away from Tala's reach.

"You can't do all of these clothes on your own," she said, making it clear that this was the last word on the subject.

Tala felt guilty, especially with the way she had been behaving. And though Jia was still attempting to form a bond with her Tala needed to cut it off, no matter how much she wanted their friendship to flourish. "Jia,"

"No,"

"I can't be your friend, Jia,"

Jia pretended not to hear her and kept on sewing.

"Jia," insisted Tala flatly, "stop wasting your time. We are not friends and we never will be."

Jia shrugged her shoulders. "I know you're lying," she answered.

"_Jia_,"

"_Tala_," Jia snapped back, looking at her, "_you_ are the one wasting your time. We are in the same sector. You are not getting rid of me, so enough trying. What are you so _afraid_ of? Why will you not talk to me?"

"I can't," said Tala, "Not yet."

"When you figure it out, tell me," said Jia, "But you still can't finish these alone, so I'll help you."

* * *

Chase came back every day with a new bundle of clothes to mend. And, though Jia had every intention to help her with the sewing, Chase would always find some excuse to run Jia out of the room, leaving him and Tala alone.

The excuse for today, though Tala took note that he had used it three times already, was for Jia to prepare some tea. He was sitting smugly in a chair opposite of Tala's mat, smiling at her as she re-mended the same shirt he had brought in twice last week.

"How you manage to rip a shirt three times in the same spot, I will never know," she grumbled, nipping the end of the string to finish the stitch.

"Training," he told her, folding his arms and relaxing, "We must do the same exercises every day in order to perfect them. Ripping my clothes in the same spot shouldn't surprise you."

"I hadn't known," Tala spoke through her teeth and kept her eyes on the pocket she was now working on, trying her hardest not to become angry, "_Forgive_ me, honored apprentice."

"You don't have to call me that, you know," said Chase with a pleasant smile, "I don't care."

"_You _may not, honored apprentice," she answered, "but as a girl servant, I must show you the proper respect."

"Ugh, _enough_," he growled, "We have been dancing around this for weeks. You and I _both_ know what needs to happen and it's time to discuss it."

Tala could taste her own heartbeat. She looked at him, her throat running dry. "What are you talking about?"

"You know what I'm talking about," he said with a grin, "Don't play dumb, brave girl."

"You could have turned me in to the Elders by now and you haven't," snapped Tala, "Why?"

Chase shrugged with a light chuckle, "Because I want to know something,"

"And what would that be?" she asked.

Chase smiled. "Everything."

Jia returned then and placed the tea onto the counter beside Chase. She poured him a cup silently, eyes flickering to Tala then back to her task. "Thank you," Chase told her, "You may leave now. Tala can pour it, if I want more."

Jia gave Tala a worried glance, but they both knew that there was no choice. A warrior's order could not be broken by any means.

"Yes, honored apprentice," she said before leaving silently.

"Why did you do that?" demanded Tala once Jia was gone, "A girl cannot be alone in a room with a man too long! People will talk, you know that!"

"People are already talking by my just being here," he pointed out, "People will _always_ talk. It's what they do. It _doesn't_ matter."

"Doesn't _matter_?" she hissed, "_Of course_ it matters! I can't give _any_ reason for _anyone_ to be suspicious of me!"

"And you won't," he answered, "so long as you keep doing as I say. Let me _protect_ you."

"In exchange for..._everything,_"

"For being your friend," he answered. She could almost be swayed by the genuine kindness in his eyes but she was wary of him. She could tell that he was clever. There was something else he wasn't saying. Chase leaned forward, folding his hands, and smiled warmly, "That's all I want," he said, "I want to understand you."

"So you bring me your torn clothes," she said slowly, "in order to understand me,"

"I protect your secrets," said Chase, "you show me your secrets. Besides, it was the only way to talk to you without drawing too much attention. Not to mention my clothes get to be fixed in the process."

There it was, the truth. "It's my magic you want," she concluded, "Why?"

"Just curious," he said, "I mean it. I've always wondered what it was like and now I get to know."

"Through me,"

"Through you," he echoed, "Can you trust me to protect you?"

No, of course she couldn't. Tala smiled. "Of course," she said, "who better to guard my secret than the strongest Xiaolin apprentice in over five hundred years?"

Chase's smile broke genuinely into a happy sigh of relief. "We're going to be great, friends, Tala," he said, "I can feel it."

'_No_,' thought Tala in spite of her agreeing smile, '_We aren't_.'

* * *

Jia was asleep by the time Tala had reached the last article of clothing to sew for the night. She sighed when she ran her fingers along the shirt sleeve's hole, wondering how long it was going to take before she'd snap and kill the aggravating boy.

No, she would not let herself think that way. Papa would not have allowed it. But whenever she thought about Chase Young, she would get so _angry_! He was so arrogant!

"Let me _protect_ you," she mumbled under her breath to mock him, "_pah_."

She was about to begin sewing when she noticed something odd about the sleeve. It was a shirt she had fixed twice before- _that _was no surprise- but this time she noticed something about the tear that she hadn't the last two times it was mended. The hole was not jagged, but smooth and clean; Even the string she had used to stitch it appeared to have been neatly taken out.

Tala gasped, heat rising into her face with anger. The candle beside her flared along with it, frightening her. She blew it out quickly, hoping Jia was not awakened by it. She held still for a minute and listened for Jia's breathing in the darkness. It was steady and light. To Tala's immense relief, Jia was dead asleep.

She could not see, but still had her thumb wrung through the hole. She brushed at the edge of the fabric. It _was _smooth.

"I knew it," she whispered angrily to herself, "I can't trust him."

He cut it.


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: I do not own XS. This work is entirely fanmade.**

_Four_ Like The Wind _

Chase could not stop smiling. _Finally_, he would be able to experience magic first hand instead of just having to read about it in the library scrolls. It would all be thanks to Tala. Sure, she was a little rough around the edges, and the poor girl had every right to be wary of people, but he could get her to trust him in time. Just like all of the other girls, she'd fall for his charms eventually. _Nobody_ could resist a hero.

Besides, he never _lied_ about wanting to be her friend; the kid had some spunk to her that he admired, but he couldn't deny what he wanted from her either. He wanted her knowledge, her experiences. He dreamed of feeling fire flicker between his fingers, of flight and seeing through the third eye. If Tala had the ability to do these things, time would tell and Chase planned to be there to witness it all. It would be their little secret.

"Your little friend's back," said Dashi, sitting beside him on the bench, "Better run her off before Master Young notices and has a fit."

_Again? _Didn't she know how dangerous it was for her to even have one foot on this side of the Temple? He turned around and glared at Tala, who was standing right at the edge of the sand ring, not too far off from the obstacle course, but far enough for Master Young not to notice her..._yet_.

"Yeah, yeah," he grumbled, "I've got it."

"You cut it," Tala snapped the minute he came within hearing distance. Her usually subtle accent was thick with anger. She sounded like her mouth was full of rice, really.

He ignored her. "Don't you know how _dangerous _this is?" he snapped, "Do you have _any_ idea what would happen to you if you were caught sneaking _around_ here? This is a _restricted_ area full of _spiritual _energy! Only the Xiaolin Dragons and apprentices can even step _foot_ here! What are you doing?"

Tala threw the shirt at him. "_This_ is what I am doing," she answered, her brogue like porridge. "You can blackmail me _all _you like but I will _not_ be tricked."

"_Blackmail_?" Is _that_ what she thought he was doing?

She turned on her heel and walked off, apparently not very interested in hearing what he had to say. Seriously, she was doing this? He was the only friend she _had_!

"_Tala_," he called after her, but knew better than to chase her down. Oh well, at least she left before his father could notice. He would just have to find some way to straighten this out with her later.

* * *

Tala took another breath. She needed to relax.

She was meditating beneath her willow tree, trying to clear her mind. Too much stress meant a loss of control over her powers and she could not afford to be any angrier with Chase. She felt unstable enough as it was.

Tala liked meditating. It was more to her than just a way to keep her magic in check. All of her senses felt heightened whenever she closed her eyes and stilled her body. She could hear the whisper of the wind in the trees, the sparrows still flying south overhead. She could feel the cold nip her face with its sharp teeth, but she liked that. The bitterness of it on her nose and cheeks kept her centered, in control.

But no matter how cold she felt, her hands ached with burning heat. She _hated_ him! It had been several days since she last saw Chase and the fire in her hands had not yet died down. She claimed being sick to get out of her chores and to keep herself away from people until it did and snuck out once Jia had left the kitchen to hide here and try her best at calming down. This was the longest her magic had been active. It made her dangerous.

To make matters worse, Tala could feel uneasiness crawl up her back, as silent and as slowly as a spider on a windowsill. In the back of her mind were harsh whispers, telling her that she had made a mistake by confronting him- He would tell the Elders in retaliation and she would be killed. She hated to admit it, but she was afraid. She could hear the phantom screams of her mother, soon to be her own, at the back of her mind accompanied with that _infernal _buzzing.

He would be there too, she knew. Would he watch her die? Would he be glad? The heat flared at the thought of his smug face disappearing behind the flames. Orange flooded into her mouth, setting off panic. No! She could not release her magic like this!

"Stop thinking about him," she growled to herself, her whole body shaking from the held back power, "calm down."

"Don't fall in love with me, now,"

Tala turned, spinning so fast that she was able to stand when she faced him. Chase was smiling, _laughing_, even. Her hands were so hot that they physically began to hurt. Her magic was _begging_ to be released on this idiot.

"Leave me alone!" she shouted.

"Hey, hey," he said, raising his hands in surrender while sauntering forward, "_relax_, I was kidding!"

"Don't come any closer," she warned, "I am too angry right now and my magic _cannot_ be controlled when I'm angry."

"Then don't be angry," he said with a smooth smile, "Witches need to learn how to control their emotions because it's the source of their power, right?"

"My mum said so, yes," she admitted, "So stay back."

"Okay," he said, retreating a step, "I'll stay back."

"Why are you here?" she demanded, "Why do you keep _toying_ with me?"

"I'm _not_," Chase snapped. He looked insulted, a sharp glare hardening his eyes, "I'm actually _trying _to _help_ you!"

"_Help_ me?" she yelled, "By _what_? Terrifying me? Raising the risk of my magic being exposed by letting me think that I was going to die? Was _that _helping?"

"That's not-" Chase cut himself off and took a breath, his eyes softening. "Look," he said, "I'm sorry. I never meant to _scare_ you, or make you _mad_. I just wanted to be your friend. _That's_ it."

"I find that hard to believe," she said, crossing her arms, "You _cut _those clothes. You were doing it on _purpose_ to mess with me!"

Chase rolled his eyes. "I already _told_ you," he bit, "It was the only way to talk to you while still drawing the least amount of attention. All I've _done_ since we've _met_ is try to protect you! Why can't you _understand _that?"

"Because all _you've_ done is make me fear for my life!"

"What _else _can I _say_?" asked Chase desperately, "I'm sorry! I'm _sorry_."

The heat began to subside and Tala finally, after days of feeling on edge, could feel her body relax. It left her feeling cold but oddly satisfied.

"I'm sorry, Tala," said Chase, reaching out a hand to her, "I just want to help you, _please_."

Tala stared at his hand. Chase smiled and with a shrug of his shoulders said "I'll say it again a hundred times if I have to, but I'm not leaving until we decide to become friends."

Tala could not help but smile genuinely at his joke. However, the thought of letting him in was not a very tempting one, no matter how lonely she truly felt.

"Friends," she said, "You wouldn't want to be friends with me."

"Of course I do," he answered, "Come on, kid, would I really be sitting here letting my fingers freeze if I didn't? Trust me, Tala. Not _everyone_ is out to get you."

Tala felt her throat tighten. "Okay," she said, her full voice pushing past the stone, "Friends, then."

A voice from behind Chase boomed, "_What is going on here_?"

Surprised, Tala's magic flooded her mouth with its orange taste. Her body radiated with heat in the split second before it rushed out of her, tossing Chase aside as easily as a leaf caught in the wind. He lay crumpled at the base of the willow, still and silent.

In his place stood a man dressed in white Masters' robes, his long hair pulled up half way into a warrior's knot. His sharp features and bright eyes were a shocking similarity to Chase's and Tala knew at once who he was: Master Keyota Young.

He rushed her, yanking at her arm fiercely. "You will not escape, witch," he said. The man's face was inches from hers, "Now lift your enchantment from my son or I swear to you, you will be _begging_ for that fire."

He hollered over his shoulder, "Guards! Someone call the guards! My son needs help!"

Maids had already flooded the gateway, poking their nosy heads in after hearing Master Young's yelling. "Don't just stand there like _hens_," he shouted at them, "My _son_! Help my son!"

"And _you_," he snarled, looking back to Tala. His grip tightened and Tala could feel herself bruising. "You _will _unspell Chase," he said, tossing her toward the tree, "and then I shall bring you before the Council and you will atone for your crimes."

She fell onto her knees at Chase's head. "I knew I should never have trusted you," she whispered to him, crying, "I'm so sorry, Chase. I never wanted to hurt you."

Master Young grabbed Tala by the collar of her dress. "Unbind him," he ordered, but Tala could not. She instead kept on weeping, "_Unbind him_!"

"I can't!" she cried, "I don't know how!"

Master Young dragged Tala to her feet. "Then you have sealed your fate," he hissed into her ear, "Killing a man is punishable by death."

* * *

Tala fell to the floor, her hands slapping against the polished jade. They stung but the pain kept her in check when her magic flooded her mouth again like orange bile. Tala focused on her hands, willing herself to hold on.

She was shocked by her own reflection, clear and clean like a mirror. Mangled hair spiderwebbed down her face and peeking through were her sleep-deprived eyes, bright silver and full of fear. _What_? Her eyes had _never_ looked like that! _What had she become_?

"No," she begged under her breath, the sharpness blurring under her tears.

"Get up," hissed Master Young, pulling Tala to her feet by the rest of her braid, now loose and in a tangled mess. She cried out and clawed at his hands to let go, struggling to break free.

Through the haze of her tears, the bright light of the flickering candles, hundreds of them, stung her eyes as they burned against the darkness of the room like stars. Under the glow, Tala could just barely see the shapes of men sitting along the edges of the jade circle pit, each one of them dressed in thick robes that spilled from their mats and over the ridges of the steps.

"What is the meaning of this, Master Young?" demanded one of them, his voice crackling like dead leaves, "Why have you interrupted our meditation?"

"There are more important things," snapped Master Young, "We have a witch in our midst."

Tala's vision began to clear as her tears dried, though the glow of the candles still darkened the faces of the Elders. One of them leaned forward, his bald head shining like the jade circle. "A witch," he said with a raspy chuckle, "What has the child done? Has she floated an egg on water? Or enchanted the _chickens _to walk in rows, perhaps?"

"_This_," hissed Master Young lifting Tala up to stand straight with a painful yank of her hair, "is no child! This monster has _enchanted _my son and I fear for his life! For _weeks_ Chase has been acting strangely- he has been restless, eating very little at mealtimes, sneaking away from training at _any_ chance, and then I find him with _her_."

He tossed Tala again to the ground but this time she was unable to catch herself. Collapsing under her own weight, Tala was only just able to shield her face from the blow with the crook of her elbow. She could not help it now, she cried. She cried so hard that her entire body shook and shrank within itself. It was useless pleading for her life; they were going to kill her.

"And when I found them," continued Master Young, "this _thing_ bashed my son against a tree to keep him from testifying against her!"

There was silence after the echoes of Master Young's shouts had faded. Tala held her breath, struggling to calm herself.

"Possession," mused the laughing one, his voice now grave with suspicion, "How can a child _be_ so powerful?"

"I do not know," admitted Master Young, "But I _know _what I have seen. This creature in child's skin is a monster that _must_ be destroyed."

"Do you have any proof that Chase Young was possessed by this girl?" a voice from the shadows asked.

Tala lifted her head, heart pounding with hope.

All of the Elders turned to see who had spoken and out from the shadows, his robes dyed the royal color of red, stepped forth the Xiaolin Temple's Grand Master Wei. He was ancient looking, his white beard flowing to the ground, just dusting the golden hem of his robe. His earlobes had been stretched and the almost mystical way his eyes sparkled when he met Tala's eye spoke of his sageful wisdom. He smiled a little at her, reminding Tala to turn her eyes down quickly. She did not want to displease such a powerful man.

"She tried to kill my _son_," insisted Master Young, making Tala cringe, "With all do respect, Grand Master, I _saw_ her throw him against a tree with her magic! I do not even know of his condition! Chase could be dead!"

"While it is true that this is indeed a tragedy," he answered, lifting a palm away from the scroll box he was carrying to soothe the Master, "Your judgement, Master Young, has been clouded by your love for the boy. You and I know very well that nothing is as it first seems."

"Forgive me, Grand Master," interrupted one of the Elders, "But the law _clearly states_ that the girl must be punished in any other case, witch or no- she still attacked a man and dishonored him. We _must _deal with her accordingly."

"And what would you have us do, Master Honghui," snarled another from across the room, "burn her alive and make an example of this child?"

"Yes," he answered sharply, "The _law_ is the _law_ and it _must _be abided. We are not all as _woman-hearted_ as you, Master Yaozu. Some of us still look to our _minds_ to reason."

"You wish to snuff out the life of a frightened child, Master Honghui," said Grand Master Wei quietly, "Does that make us any better than the Heylin?"

The echoes of the Grand Master's retort filled the room with a whisper.

_Heylin_. Tala had heard that word before. It brought back a memory, vague and fleeting, of her mother's stories.

"Whether the girl is innocent or not," continued Grand Master Wei, "is not my concern. But, as Grand Master of this Temple, I must oversee all matters of the Council. This is my unrivaled decree: This child is not to be harmed, _regardless_ of Master Young's testimony."

"_What_?" shouted Master Young, leading the entire chamber in a chorus of protests, "She is _dangerous_! We do not know what her magic is capable of!"

The men began to argue with each other, some siding with the Grand Master as the head of Council and others calling for her head as decreed by the law.

"What is _dangerous_," said Grand Master Wei loudly enough to bring order back to the room, "can also be tamed and made _passive_,"

Then, with a nod at Tala and an encouraging smile, he added "with the proper tools and teaching."

"What is your interest in this witch," demanded Master Young, "Why spare _this _one's life when you have burned countless others in your own time?"

He looked to Master Young with a sharp eye and answered, "I have reason to believe that this _child_ has a higher calling, one that can shape the course of history should we train her correctly."

Tala looked at him blatantly now, too shocked by his words to remember her place. She held her breath to keep her teeth from rattling, though her hands shook all the same.

"Dojo," called the Grand Master. The scroll box in his hands opened and out of it slithered the most peculiar snake Tala had ever seen.

His scales were as green as the jade floor, accompanied by a red beard beneath his chin the same vibrancy as his master's robes. Atop his head were two strange crests that curled then fanned out like wings on either side behind his eyes. But, the oddest thing about him were his arms, thin and unnatural, with talons sharper than any knife she had ever seen rounding out at the end of his paws. Held between them was the scroll itself, large and just barely gripped by the creature it dwarfed.

"At your service, Grand Master Wei," he said, curling his lips back into a comical smile

"You know what to do," Grand Master Wei told him. Dojo's smile widened and he dropped the bottom half of the scroll, letting it trail out until it rested at Tala's hands with a light tap.

She looked at what was printed on it, but did not understand. They were just characters- men's letters. They meant nothing to her. The only symbols she recognized were the four elements, but even there she had trouble discerning which was meant for what.

The men, however, fell so silent that the room itself grew still. What did the scroll say?

"How can this be?" gasped Master Young, his face paling. He looked at Tala, his throat bobbing. His eyes were not filled with the fire of anger. That fire had been doused to coals, the smoke of distrust still lingering around them, though she could not understand the meaning why.

"You may rise, young lady," said the Grand Master, "Get to your feet. Quickly, now."

She did as she was told, though her limbs were weak and shaking. The Elders each began to slowly bow to her, one by one in the circle until Master Young himself gave a swift, rigid one of his own. It was surreal. What had just happened?

"My child," said the Grand Master kindly, "Do you know what those characters say down near your feet?"

Tala shook her head. "No, Grand Master," she whispered, her throat too dry from crying to make a proper sound.

He smiled and with a small dip of his head and a sweep of his hand said, "It is your name."

* * *

Chase jolted awake. He felt his breath rush back into him, surging his body with energy. He looked down at his hands, catching his breath. Gripping the sheets covering his legs, he realized that he must have been in the medical quarters.

"They're going to kill her, you know,"

Chase whipped his head over to see a maid sitting in a chair beside the doorway, glaring at him. It was _her_, that girl who lived with Tala in the kitchens. Her lips were puckered with a disapproving frown and her dark eyes were murderous.

"Is that what you _wanted_," she asked accusingly, "to have Tala killed?"

"What are you talking about," he demanded, "What happened?"

"You don't _know_?" she snapped, "She was caught. Because of _you._"

"Did you know?"

The maid shrugged. "I figured it out around the same time that you began showing up," she admitted, "I was just waiting for her to tell me."

"Why didn't you go to the Masters?"

"_Why didn't you_?"

"I was trying to protect her," snapped Chase.

"_No_," argued the maid, "That's what _I_ was doing. All you did was get Tala killed."

"You better watch your _mouth_, woman," he said, "know your place. You are lucky that I care for Tala or I would have slapped you for talking in defiance."

"If you _truly_ care for her," she answered, "go save her. The Elders may have given their verdict already, but the voice of a Xiaolin Dragon in training could possibly stop them long enough to hear the truth… You and I _both_ know that she didn't attack you."

This was his fault. If he had just talked to Tala outright about his plan instead of hiding the incisions in his clothes, this would never have happened. That little girl was now going to be vilified and even killed because of his negligence. He shuddered at the thought. "Who knows?"

"Everyone,"

"How many days has it been?"

"One," answered the maid, "But you know how rumors spread. Talk is like wildfire."

Chase jumped out of his bed and raced for the door. He was about to run out when she pulled on his shirt. "One last thing," she told him.

He glared down at her, "_What_?"

"You need your coat," she said, pulling it out from under her chair and handing it to him, "They won't take you seriously in those night clothes."

* * *

The Elders had spent the past twenty-four hours discussing what to do about the revelation the Grand Master had received about the little witch. By all right accounts, Tala should have been executed, branded a monster and an enemy to all of China, but here she was, sitting on a small mat in the jade-lined hall, drinking tea and awaiting their decision.

She was seated beside Grand Master Wei, who winked down at her when she snuck a peek at him and Tala quickly looked away politely. She traced the bottom edge of her cup with her finger, nervous and a little more than wary of the Grand Master and his strange kindness.

"Do not be afraid, young one," he told her, leaning down to talk into Tala's ear, "Death no longer has his sights on you. The Elders only want what is best for our Temple and in this moment, that is you."

"_Me_?" she whispered.

"_Yes_," he chuckled, "Whether they wish to believe it or not. Either way, they _must _accept."

'_Accept what_?,' she thought. Tala still knew nothing of what had occurred with the scroll. Her name was in it, and that frightened the Masters, but she had yet to learn _why_.

"Grand Master," she said, "Why was my name in that scroll?"

"You ask bold questions, little maid," he mused.

"Forgive me,"

"No," he said with a smile, "to ask is to learn and to learn is to thrive. Never be ashamed of wanting to understand. The greatest minds ask the boldest questions. You, my dear, have the makings of a _scholar_ in you."

"Pardon my rudeness, Grand Master," she muttered, shifting the cup in her hands, "but, my name-"

Grand Master Wei laughed. "Oh, yes," he said heartily, "and you are _persistent_ too! Be smart, Tala. Don't let the answers get away from you. Now, to answer your question, you will understand shortly."

As he said this, the doors to the Jade circle opened, the ornate golden dragons on each door unlatching their claws from one another as they swung wide. "It appears," said the Grand Master taking Tala's tea and placing it on the tray beside him with his own cup, "that the Elders have come to a decision. Stand with me."

She kept time with him, careful not to stand before he could rise. Tala's fingers tapped against her thumbs. She counted them- one, two, three, four; one, two, three, four- over and over to keep from focusing on her shaking legs and the heat in her palms.

A eunuch came from the darkened doorway and ushered them in. Tala wondered how she could walk, being so nervous. She thought she might vomit, but the presence of Grand Master Wei walking beside her grounded her in the moment and out of her head, where fear could bite at her.

"Have you come to a decision?" asked the Grand Master as he and Tala sat on the two mats placed in front of them before the Council.

"Yes," answered Master Yaozu, "It has been decreed by law that as a witch, the girl must die, and in light of the Scroll's revelation, we hereby announce that Tala Bao, charged with the crime of witchcraft, is-"

Light flooded in from the hall as someone burst in. "Stop," they shouted, "She is innocent! Stop everything!"

Tala shielded her eyes from the light, and though she could not see him, she knew that voice well. "_Chase_?" she hissed to herself, feeling both relieved and rather appalled.

"What is the meaning of this outburst, Chase Young?" shouted one of the Elders, rising to his feet.

"Tala Bao is innocent!" he insisted, "She didn't attack me! She's just a little kid who's scared. She didn't _mean _to hurt me."

"The Elders still have yet to reach a verdict," said the Grand Master calmly, "I invite you to sit down with us to hear it. I am sure your friend would appreciate the company."

He said this, gesturing to the eunuch to bring another mat for Chase. He quickly replied and placed it beside Tala.

"_I-_," Chase choked, "_Forgive_ me, Grand Master, for my hysterics. I did not realize-"

"You are forgiven," he interrupted, "You _are_ your father's son, after all. Please, take your seat and we shall speak no more of it."

Chase bowed to the Grand Master, but Tala winced inwardly with sympathy at the unsubtle insult. His jaw was set with reluctance, but Chase did as he was told.

"Hey," he whispered to Tala as he sat down, "_that_ was embarrassing, huh?"

Tala ignored him and turned her attention to the men who had decided her fate. Master Yaozu smiled warmly, the folds of his long face and sagging neck reminding Tala of a tortoise. "May I continue with the verdict, Grand Master?" he asked patiently.

Grand Master Wei waved a hand in dismissal. Master Yaozu nodded, his smile warm. Looking to Tala, he said, "Tala Bao, over the remainder of the day and the course of the night, we the Council of Elders have come to conclude that, you are here by… _free_."

Tala's heart stopped. She was unsure if she had heard him correctly. _Free_? It made no sense to her. The word sounded foreign, made up.

"And that is not all," added on Grand Master Wei, rising to his feet, "I have come to find that you are very special, young one."

"But how," she wondered. Tala could feel her face grow ugly with the threat of bawling, "_How_ am I free? How could-"

"I did not believe what Master Young had testified against you," answered Master Yaozu, his shoulders shaking from the strain of craning his neck, "_several_ of us did not, in fact. You have divided our _Council_, young lady. And, though some of us _may_ use our minds, _I _know better to use my _sense_. I have seen many witches burned under our verdict and _none_ looked any bit as sorry as you lying on that floor, crying your eyes out for a boy you might have killed. If you were _truly_ a witch, you would have been glad."

Tala felt Chase's eyes on her and out of the corner of her, she could vaguely see a frown on his face.

"Witches cannot hide their joy at another's pain," explained another Elder, "It is how many have been caught. A witch may be able to lie, but she cannot when it comes to murder. Her magic is designed to harm and when she succeeds in such a deed, she becomes euphoric."

"In ancient times," interrupted Master Honghui sharply, "It was said that the Xiaolin Dragons once possessed magic themselves, but we have lost such an art. Perhaps _you_ are the key to reawakening it."

"Me?" she asked, "What do I have to do with the Xiaolin Dragons?"

"You are destined to _be_ one, my dear" said Master Yaozu through a kindly laugh, "And a powerful one too, I'd suspect. With you, the elemental cycle is complete. Fire, Water, Earth, and now,"

He gestured to her with a wave of his feeble hand, his eyes deadlocked on hers. "_Air_,"

"That was what the scroll had said yesterday," she said, "wasn't it? My name was in it because this is my _destiny_?"

They were not going to spare her life because she was innocent! They were sparing it to save their own skins! Orange coated her tongue, but Tala swallowed it down and in spite of her hands burning, she folded them in her lap, tapping her fingers together- one, two, three, four; one, two, three, four.

"Do not be alarmed, Tala," assured Master Yaozu, "The others were your exact age when the Scroll of Ages chose them to fill the other elements. With their guidance, you shall be able to rise to their ranks with ease."

"But how can I _compete_?" she protested, "I am a girl! It is not _right_ for a girl to take on a man's role!"

"While that _is_ normally true," interrupted Chase, "If the Scroll chose you, then you are as capable as any man would be. If you weren't you would never have been named."

"_However_," said Master Honghui smugly, "Your magic _must _be contained. Any more accidents like this will give us no choice but to charge and execute you. Use your magic for the good of all. Fail, and you shall die."

"Oh, enough with your theatrics, _Yan_," snapped Grand Master Wei, "You are _frightening _the girl!"

Master Honghui's smile dropped, silenced by the Grand Master's flared temper. It was not even a half-moment later that Grand Master Wei smiled to Tala with kindness and said to all in the room, "In truth, this girl is not a witch. A true witch uses her magic to force her will upon another, to cause harm, dealing the most damage toward those who are good, and despises kindness in all of its forms. This girl has not met any of those requirements by my judgement. She has been given a rare gift and still has yet to learn how to wield it. We should see this as an opportunity to bring the Xiaolin Dragons back into their magical birthrights. My decree is that she is to be given a guardian until that day arrives. One that will keep her secret hidden, dismiss the rumors spread about her over this _unfortunate_ mishap, and protect her in all things."

He looked at Chase and Tala's heart sank, '_Oh, please, no_,'

"Chase Young," he said, "You were the first to discover her and so it is _you_ who should have the honor to keep Tala Bao safe from those who would wish to harm her should they _also_ learn of her gifts. Can I entrust you to that?"

Chase looked just about as unsure and as terrified as Tala felt. In fact, he looked rather sick over the sudden responsibility, but he bowed to the Grand Master, saying, "I accept."

* * *

**AN: I'm glad that's all over so I can now finally move on to the Xiaolin Dragon shenanigans. Until next time, my friends!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: I do not own XS. This work is entirely fanmade.**

_Five_ Of Things To Come_

The clothes they had given Tala were worn, faded by the years they spent unused among the treasures of the last Air monk, though unlike the other treasures, they were not three hundred years old. They were recently made in vibrant yellow, though hastily, in preparation for her. They were a tad too big at the waist and the hem of the shirt cut down below her knees. To remedy this, Tala had been given a sash to tie the pants more securely around her middle underneath the faded black hand-me-down belt of a long since advanced trainee.

Grand Master Wei assured her that these robes were temporary until a more form-fitting set of the same color could be made for her. It was imperative, he had said, for Tala to be seen in the proper robes- the color not so much representing her element, but rather what _she_ represented.

As the Xiaolin monk of Air, she was the keeper of fortitude- the inner strength of all men to press on, whatever odds they may deffy. It was yellow that represented it, the color of rebirth and revitalization in spring after the harshness of winter. Inspite of Tala feeling like she might drown in her own clothes, the Grand Master made it quite clear that what Tala now wore was a piece of history and heritage passed down to her and were to be treated with the utmost respect.

She scoffed inwardly to herself, fiddling with one of her sleeves that kept on slipping past her wrist while Master Young explained the Dragons' history to her. The lesson was not so much boring as it was uncomfortable having to stand in her new quarters with him as they were being arranged.

"The Cycle of Four has been broken until now," he explained as women ran back and forth, rearranging the room, "For the past three hundred years the Xiaolin Dragon of Air has been lost. Before that we were strong and, as the Grand Master claims, had magic of our own. These quarters I present to you now have been preserved with care by the Council, hoping one day to revive it with the renewal of completion in the Xiaolin Dragons' line."

Tala found her new home to be spacious, too large for her in fact. The main room had hardly anything in it other than the brand new sleeping mat, crisp and white, and a mirror in the corner. The adjacent room was much smaller, meant as a back patio with two mats and a tea table set between them to entertain a guest. The paper door in front of them was opened to air out the quarters as maids passed in and out of the doorway, carrying in Tala's new belongings.

"What are these things?" she asked the Master, watching a trunk be carried in by two eunuchs.

"They are your inheritance as the next Air Dragon," he told her, "There is not much. Most of what _should _have belonged to the Dragon warriors was lost in the war centuries ago and more so of yours disappeared after the death of your predecessor."

The chest was set down beside a pair of swords gently laid atop a rug, still neatly rolled, in the opposite corner. Master Young's constant frown lightened as he watched her stare at it and said, "You will find no gold there, if that is what you're thinking. The Dragons were rich in _culture_, not gems or jewels. Most likely in that chest of yours there will be scrolls and maps."

"Forgive me, Master," she said, feeling guilty, for she _had_ thought of gold, "I did not mean to-"

Master Young waved her off with an elegant snap of his wrist. "No need to apologize," he said, "I was the same when Grand Master Wei showed me my own quarters."

"Grand Master Wei was your teacher?"

Master Young's face returned to stone and Tala wished desperately to take her question back. He never liked her questions. In fact, he hardly liked her speaking at all. This was the most conversation she had with him in the past four days. He was civil; not once had he said anything of ill will to her since his testimony, but Tala knew that his hatred for her was still strong.

"Come," he said stiffly, "share tea with me."

They sat opposite of each other at the tea table, the steaming pot already placed there for them gleaming against the rare winter sun. Tala kept her eyes on her hands as she prepared their cups, feeling more self conscious now than ever before. She dreaded having him as her teacher and she knew that he dreaded her as a pupil, but neither could change or challenge what the Grand Master had decided.

"To be perfectly honest," said Master Young, accepting the cup she handed to him, "I do not trust you, Tala Bao."

She did not trust herself either. With a nervous swallow, she nodded submissively. A maid attempted to place some dumplings onto the table, but the Master shooed her away like an annoying fly. Tala turned the cup, breathing slowly to steady the knives in her stomach.

"Grand Master Wei believes that you are to be our savior, aiding us with your magic and somehow restoring the powers the Xiaolin has lost," he said. Leaning forward and with a low voice he added, "But _I_ do not think so."

Tala shivered, the coldness of his voice weighing upon her shoulders like the falling snow outside. She twisted her cup back again, fighting the urge to cry. She nearly choked on how sick she felt, a whimper bubbling up into her throat.

"Stop your sniveling and look at me," he snapped, "You are no longer a timid girl servant. You are a Xiaolin warrior. _Act_ like one."

Tala looked up, her stomach churning when she saw that the fire in his amber eyes relit with suspicion and disgust. He had every right. She had given very little reason for anyone to trust her, least of all him.

"Do you _want _to know what I think, young warrior?" he asked her, with a slight smile.

"Sir," she answered with a nod.

The Master's stare was calculated and gleamed with malice as he said, "I believe that you are dangerous. If I had my way in that Council room, you would have _burned_ for what you did to my son."

"I do not blame you, sir," she said, willing herself with all of her might not to look away in fear.

"Are you frightened," he asked, "of my saying such a thing?"

Her voice shook and her stomach tightened, but she held his gaze bravely and said, "Yes."

Master Young broke the staring contest and poured himself some more tea. "You should not be," he assured her, "As the next Xiaolin Dragon of Air and the one to bring the Cycle to completion, you are not allowed to be harmed. To be honest, your new status is all that is holding me back from reaching across this table and killing you myself."

"Yes, sir," she said, relieved to not have to look him dead in the face anymore. The man unnerved her worse than his son ever could. She could see now where Chase had gotten his startling eyes and intensity from. She took a breath and asked, "Why are you telling me this?"

Master Young's eyes flickered back to her, as quick as a flame on a candle. He snorted and refilled her cup as well. "Because," he said, "I do not want you to think me prejudice when I become your Master. You must know of my full intentions before your training begins. I will push you to your limits and you will hate me for it, perhaps even surpassing my _own _animosity for you. But, _that_ will be on account of your lack of abilities, _not_ because I hate you and wish you dead."

"I do not understand,"

"I treat all of my students _equally_, young one," he told her, "I push them to strive for their full potential. I told you that I distrust you so now you have no question in the way I see you. You must know that in spite of my personal feelings, my only goal from this point forward is to mold you into a warrior that can properly claim the title of a Xiaolin Dragon. I will expect nothing less of you."

She bowed, not knowing what else to say or do other than accept the strange honor, if she could even call it that, "Thank you, Master."

* * *

Tala scrambled to save herself from falling, her hand just barely scraping the ground before she twisted around to face her opponent dead on. With her still off balance, the other warrior took the advantage by hooking the back of her wobbling leg with his foot. She tripped and fell back, sand spraying everywhere and a painful throb spreading like cracked ice on the back of her head.

The gong rang and the boy relaxed to bow. Tala squeezed her eyes shut against the pain and embarrassment, laying there a half moment longer in her self pity, before pushing herself up from the ground. She opened her eyes, just barely blinking them back into focus. She was just so _tired_.

The boy reached out a hand to her, smiling. She allowed him to help her up, but did not return the friendly gaze.

"Tala," called Master Young sternly, "how many times must I say it; _keep_ your body aligned at the center. You must balance your weight properly when you come out of a strike, else you _will_ fall whether by your opponent's volition or not."

"Yes, Master," she said, bowing, "Thank you."

Master Young rang the gong a second time. "Again," he instructed, "Begin with the horse stance this time. Even _you_ could not mess that up."

Heat prickled at Tala's fingertips. She balled her hands, willing it away before the familiar and dreaded taste of orange could coat her tongue. It was hard enough keeping her focus with sleep still scratching at the back of her mind. She did not want to move until she was sure the magic had subsided.

"Have your feet turned to _stone_, warrior?" called Master Young, "Horse stance. _Now_."

Tala sucked in breath, cooling her mouth to soothe herself, and released it. '_Relax_,' she thought, fighting off a yawn, '_Slowly, Tala_. Just a few more sets.'

Being sure to keep her feet flat, Tala readied her hands, stretching her arms out with balled fists. She tucked them up at her waist and spread her feet to be a hair wider than her shoulder width, struggling to keep herself balanced as she crouched. She turned to face her opponent directly, being sure to only twist the front foot to point in his direction. She wobbled slightly, realizing that her core was leaning a bit too forward. Her eyes blurred again.

"Keep your spine _straight_," Master Young warned, "Honestly, trainee, I sometimes wonder if you truly _have_ one."

"_Chunuis_," Tala cursed under her breath, straightening herself. He knew _exactly_ why she could not hold her balance!

"_Much_ better," he said, lucky to not have heard her. To her opponent, he said, "Guan, don't just knock Tala down this time. _Anyone_ can do that. This is an _assessment_ of you both. I want to see what you have applied this quarter."

Guan nodded and shifted into a mirror of her, mimicking the horse stance. He took a deep breath too, watching her with worried eyes. He must have noticed the dark circles under hers.

"Begin,"

Guan charged her, his arms ready for a punch. She used that to her advantage, jumping up and using them as a springboard to kick off of and lift herself high above his head from the momentum of her own sprint. She brought the kick down, but he was fast.

Catching her foot, Guan tossed Tala away, only just giving her enough time to spin and face him again before he sent her flying with a kick of his own. The blow knocked the wind from her. She nearly panicked, unable to breathe as she lay on the ground, but the air returned within a few long seconds. The gong chimed again as Tala caught her breath, struggling not to cry. The exhaustion was getting to her.

It had already been a year of training under Master Young alongside the other three Dragon hopefuls, and still Tala was nowhere near the apprentice rank. She wondered if her Master would _ever_ grant her the apprentice belt. Even if he did, she was still eons away from catching up to the boys- all three already beginning to train under the Wudai rank.

In spite of this, she was glad to not feel so alone. Guan himself was also struggling to keep up, though he was much closer to his goal than Tala was to hers. It was why Master Young had paired them together for the assessment; they both needed to be pushed.

"Get up, trainee," called Master Young, "Continue again with the cat stance, and be sure to keep your weight balanced on your back leg. Do not be afraid of falling over."

Tala pushed herself up and when Guan offered his assistance the second time, she spurned him and sulked off back to her beginning spot.

She rested her front leg on the the ball of her foot, being sure to complete the form with no weight on it. She realized what Master Young was suggesting. The cat stance was one that used the front leg to either fluidly glide into another stance or kick the opponent. With one arm raised above her head and the other tucked at her side, Tala confidently faced Guan, a new plan of attack surfacing in her mind. She could make this quick.

The gong rang.

This time she let Guan come to her. She ducked back into the horse stance when he leapt at her and swept her leg under him, knocking the ball of her heel into his ankle. Guan tumbled and Tala sought her chance to uppercut him in the chin as she sprang back up. He fell onto his back for the first time today. Relief gave her a short lived spurt of new energy that she used to smile. "_Finally_," she said, feeling proud of herself.

"Nicely done, both of you," said Master Young. He rang the gong twice, signifying that the match was over and the two could relax. Guan rubbed his jaw as he sat up, cracking it to ease the pain.

"Sorry," said Tala, wincing with sympathy, "I guess that trick was a bit dirty."

"You were frustrated," Guan answered, not looking at her, "I understand."

Guan's scowl was not as forgiving as his words were. Neither was the rushed way he picked himself off of the ground as their Master approached them. His back and broad shoulders were rigid, standing him taller than usual. Befitting of the Earth Dragon apprentice, he dwarfed her as a mountain would a tree. He did not look down but Tala knew that he could feel her watching him. His jaw clenched, giving his feelings away.

She wanted to apologize, but the wave of weariness washed over her again and she lost the energy. Tala fought not to sway on the balls of her feet. She nearly lurched forward, blinking to keep her sight from blurring again.

Master Young applauded them as he approached, his smirk smugly crooked when it came into Tala's focus. "You're improving, Tala," he said, "The apprentice rank looks like it could be well within your reach,"

Tala's heart leapt into her throat at the compliment. Finally, after all of her hard work, some praise!

"…. In _five_ _more_ years,"

Nevermind. Tala bowed, avoiding having to look into his face. She did not want him to have the satisfaction of seeing the disappointment in her eyes.

"And _you_, Guan," he added, "You've become more controlled in your forms but you are still far too slow. I may have to pair you with Dashi to see if he can push you to move more quickly. Perhaps _then_ you will show some improvement."

Guan also bowed. "Yes, Master Young," he said quietly.

"You are dismissed,"

Tala snuck a guilty look at Guan, but he avoided her and briskly walked off of the training sands. She watched him leave. Both exhaustion and her own disappointment choked Tala with desperation. She began to walk away, her gaze falling to the ground as her eyelids grew heavier.

"Girl,"

Tala looked at Master Young, the sudden stop in motion dragging down her limbs. He looked at her, and though he seemed more angry than concerned, he asked, "How are you feeling?"

"I'm alright, Master," she assured him.

"No you're not," he answered, "There's no use lying to me. I know those shadows aren't _all_ from my training."

She looked down, too tired to defend herself.

"Nightmares," he said, "As a child, my son had them frequently. He hardly slept."

"What are you _suggesting_?" she asked, forgetting to keep her tongue placid.

He sighed, but graciously forgave her audacity. "You have been slow at every other moment," he said, "yet you jump at the slightest touch. You've hardly eaten, I've noticed it in your cheeks; they've thinned."

"I will be better now that the assessments are over," she told him tonelessly, fighting for her eyes to stay open, "I only need some rest."

He nodded, not looking to sure if he wanted to continue their conversation. But, almost with concern, Master Young placed a hand on Tala's shoulder and solemnly looked her in the eye.

"That may be so," he answered, "but if these nightmares persist, I suggest that you tell them to someone close to you. Sometimes simply seeking counsel from a friend can be all one needs to cure their ails."

Tala set her jaw, angry that he would even touch her after making it quite clear how much she disgusted him from the moment they met. He had made it his mission for the past year to make Tala miserable, running her on extra sets and pushing her to her limits. Why the _hell_ should he care now! She ripped her shoulder away from him and glared at the Master square in his miserable eyes.

"Thank you," she bit, bowing, "_Master_."

Master Young looked shocked, his hand still hovering in the air as if he did not know what else to do. He curled it into a fist, his face hardening as it clenched, and brought it back down to his side. "Alright," he said with another curt nod, "Be sure to rest, then. I expect you to be running the obstacle course at daybreak tomorrow morning with the other warriors."

Tala clenched her fists but said nothing, trying not to tell him things she would regret later, and nodded in acceptance of the order.

He gave her a look over with a judging flick of his eyes and said, "Good night, then," before dismissing her with the turn of his back.

She hated him. He _had_ warned her, but she could not help it. She would never forget those words he told her a year ago when she began her training. He told her plainly of his hatred for her, how he wished her dead, but swore that he would train her without prejudice. That was a lie, it had to have been.

Master Young hardly let Tala have any rest at all. He would push her until she was tired and worn then push her further, sometimes until she collapsed. And now with these nightmares she had been having, Tala could hardly stay awake at all. It was a wonder she could still move. Why did he care _now_? What was Master Young's sudden interest in her well being? Didn't he _want _this?

* * *

"You don't have to keep doing this, Chase," said Tala.

"Hey, it's my _job_, right?" he told her with an easy smile, "Besides, who else is going to make sure you get back to sleep in the middle of the night?"

"I could ask Jia to," she suggested.

Chase frowned, pulling the sheet up to her chin. Jia, that stupid maid. She was all Tala ever really talked about since moving out of the kitchens. She had found out about Tala a year ago and blamed him for the Masters finding out about Tala's magic. She had kept silent so far, but he had a bad feeling in his gut, especially with the way she looked at him whenever they crossed paths. He should have slapped her and her smart mouth when he had the chance.

"No," he snipped, "you don't want to risk it. I'm the only one besides the Masters who knows, remember? You don't want to accidentally expose yourself."

He felt a little bad as he watched her face fall into sullenness. '_Sorry, kid_,' he thought, '_but I hate your friend._' Besides, he couldn't risk Jia taking Tala's trust away from him yet. Not until he got the information that he wanted out of her.

"Are you sure that you can stay awake tonight?" she asked him, a yawn swallowing the end of her question, "You have been working hard for the assessments too. I'm sure you also need rest."

Chase smiled, watching her burrow a little further into the comforter to keep herself warm. Tala was a cute little kid, he had to admit, when she acted like a _normal_ one for a change. She was a lot more open now, not as serious and frightened as when they first met.

Spending a year as her guardian was hardly easy but with enough patience and a little charm, Chase earned some respect from Tala at the very least. And, even though she had yet to really allow him around her as she practiced her magic, he was finally beginning to find a place in her heart.

That's why he couldn't afford any naysayers like Jia screwing up his chance at getting Tala to trust him enough to teach him how to use magic… if it were possible. But, Chase was determined. If there was even the _smallest _possibility that he could learn too, then he was not going to take any chances.

She smiled back at him, her half-moon eyes crinkling because of her round cheeks. "Promise to wake me up the minute things start levitating," she reminded him, "Even if I'm not crying."

"Relax, kid," he assured her, poking the middle of her forehead, "I haven't let you down yet, have I?"

She giggled and brushed his hand away. "Thank you," she said, closing her eyes, "you really are a good friend, Chase,"

That was sweet. It felt good to hear her say that. Finally, his hard work was beginning to pay off.

"You know, Tal," he said, leaning his back against the wall as she settled in.

"Mmhmn,"

"Maybe I wouldn't have to keep watch for you so much," he suggested, "if you let me help you work on your magic,"

"Mmm,"

"So you wouldn't feel so stressed out, I mean,"

"Mmn,"

"Not that..," he struggled, "well, I mean, you shouldn't have to do _everything_ by yourself, right? I just think it'd be a little bit... _easier_ for you."

"Mmnhmn,"

"You think that's a good idea, don't you?"

Tala didn't answer. Chase turned his head to see her curled up on the mat, a ball beneath the blanket, breathing shallowly. He sighed; damn, so close too. Oh well, at least she was asleep. The kid had earned her rest.

He leaned back, turning his eyes to the ceiling. The candle beside him flickered, the dull light dancing on the ceiling peacefully. He wondered if someday he could make those flames dance by his own accord. He rubbed his hands together, their chalky dryness heating them up.

Chase longed for it. He could not understand why, but he wanted it more than anything. He wanted to feel the flames without burning his palms, to hold the very essence of power and passion in his hands. He wanted what should always have been his- he wanted _magic_.

But, for now he had to be patient. Tala herself was still a novice and if magic were anything like the martial arts, it would take quite some time for her to _truly_ master anything. She would not be able to teach him until the day came when she could stand out in the open without the fear of hurting anybody else with her gifts. It was that same fear that held her back from doing exactly what she was striving for. It was a little more than infuriating for him to watch. He did not want to admit it, but he kind of hated her for that.

He watched the lights on the ceiling swirl hypnotically and yawned. Well, Tala was right about one thing- he _was_ tired. He yawned again, feeling his eyelids fall. He needed sleep…. Maybe just twenty minutes. He could worry about getting Tala to trust him when they both had fresher minds.

* * *

It was a memory, not like the other dreams.

Tala felt the dust and pebbles under her bare feet. She could smell the cooking fires in the huts of the other villagers near by. Papa was selling a part of their harvest from the past spring, squabbling over prices with an elder man. She watched him placidly, feeling very small beside the two men.

"Here, Morningstar," said Mama with a smile, reaching her arms out to Tala, "Come to mommy,"

Tala lifted her arms and let her mother cradle her against her shoulder. Sleepily, Tala rested her chin in the crook of her mother's neck, breathing in the scent of cloves.

She hated when Mama's hair was in a braid. Mama always wore it down at home, but never in public. She always told Tala it was more polite to, but she always looked a little sad saying it too. It wasn't until the day Mama died that Tala understood why.

"My sweet one," murmured Mama, running her fingers through Tala's hair, "My little mountain girl, I love you with all that I am."

Mama's hand stopped petting. It hung loosely with Tala's curls still wrapped around her fingers. A sharp pain dug into the back of Tala's neck as her mother's nails dug into it. Tala panicked and tried to break free, but the pain grew worse and ran deeper. Her mother's fingers felt like knives burrowing into her skin.

"Mama," she cried, "you're hurting me! Stop, Mama, stop!"

"The truth is, Tala Bao," hissed Mama, holding her at arms length, "I don't _trust_ you."

Mama smiled, the sweetness of it making Tala sick. It was all wrong. She looked like Mama, _smelled_ like Mama, but the woman holding her looked at Tala with a stranger's eyes. The silver she was used to seeing wasn't there. Her mother's eyes had turned green.

"Mama," begged Tala, "please don't hurt me! I'm sorry! I didn't mean to leave you, I'm sorry!"

"Oh, baby," cooed Mama. Dark marks began to etch themselves into Mama's cheeks. They swam out from below her horrible, green eyes, fanning out like the feathers of a bird. She pulled Tala close again and kissed her forehead, whispering, "This is for your own good."

Mama hooked Tala onto a pole. By what seemed like magic, ropes tightened around Tala's arms. "_No, no, no, no," _she begged frantically, "Mama, stop!"

Tala struggled to break free as she began to smell the smoke. She didn't have to look down to know that there were sticks burning beneath her feet. Instead she looked at Mama, who stood there smiling, a disturbing look of motherly pride shining through it.

"Mama, please," she begged as smoke and tears blurred her mother's face, "Please help me!"

"No, Tala," she heard her mother say as the fire flared up and engulfed her vision, "Help yourself."

Tala jolted,finding immense relief that she was lying on solid ground, safe and sound. She fought against her own tears, trying to catch her breath in the darkness, wondering desperately where Chase was. He was _supposed_ to wake her up!

A snore cued Tala to look look at her side. Chase was lying soundly asleep beside her, curled up comfortably next to her mat despite the cold, hard floor. His candle had burned out, making it safe to guess that he had been sleeping for a while. It was a wonder the room hadn't caught on fire.

"_Pelóid air_," she hissed and pushed herself up, angry at him for breaking his promise.

Tala grabbed her night coat, oversized and borrowed from the extra stocks, and slid open the patio door. She needed air, to clear her head and to stop herself from crying.

Snow had freshly fallen on the ground, reminding Tala of the night she had met that idiot a year ago. Even the tree beside the koi pond bridge overlooking her quarters, though a small decorative one instead of a willow, reminded her of him. She hated it. The thought of Chase made her angry, especially now.

Tala wanted to scream, but held her rage in, bottling herself up with the folding of her arms. It was a cold night, at least, so the air felt fresh in her lungs, but it calmed her down only a little. Tala's heart still raced with the memory of the dream.

Those eyes. Why did she dream of her mother having green eyes? And those _markings_… She shivered against the cold and wondered what it all meant.

She stared at the small pond, leaning her body against one of the bridge's wooden poles. The water had frozen over already. She wished that time could freeze like ice so she could sleep without dreaming. Tala was beginning to grow sick of dreams.

She absentmindedly played with one of her braids. It had become thick and loose from her sleeping on it and she pulled out a few strands by accident when her fingers got caught in it. Tala tensed at the sharp tug, reminding herself of the nightmare. She _hated_ this! Tala punched the pole and instantly regretted it. Sucking on her fingers, she hissed another curse through her teeth.

The thicket beside her, leaves turned brown from the frost, rustled. Tala yelped and flinched, holding her hands up, when something flew at her face. Cringing, she waited for whatever it was to attack, but nothing happened. Tala slowly brought herself to look up and with awe realized that it was a bird suspended in the air.

"What?" she whispered, both relieved and in shock. The mourning dove was trapped mid-flap, his wings bent and his tail flared outward.

"I...froze time," she said, beginning to grasp reality of what had just happened, "Or, at least, I froze _you_."

"No _way_,"

Tala turned, her panic releasing the dove. It fluttered away, making a hasty retreat above the rooftops. Tala, however, was not so lucky. She was caught in the sights of Dashi, who stood behind her, open mouthed.

She did not bother running, not this time. Slowly, Tala turned to fully face him, not wanting to startle the elder boy into attacking her. "I can explain," she insisted, holding her hands up in surrender, before he could say anything.

Dashi stood there, still blinking as if he himself had just awoken from a dream. He looked rather funny, wrapped up in his black night coat and thick boots. Honestly, he looked like a freshly laid egg with his shiny, bald head resting upon the scarf that covered his neck. Whether it was from the odd-looking sight or just being fed up and at her wits end, Tala could not help but snort.

"Do you think this is _funny_?" he snapped, the spell breaking, as he stormed toward her.

Tala backed up, clinging to the pole of the bridge as Dashi got into her face. She sunk into her shoulders, trying to make herself smaller in order to avoid his wrath.

"Do you know what could have happened if someone else _saw_ you?" he demanded, reminding her of the words Chase himself had told her.

"Actually, I-"

"You need to be more careful," he said sternly, "Absolutely _nobody_ can find out about this!"

...Did she just _hear_ him correctly?

Tala looked at Dashi, her face scrunching with confusion; "_What_ did you just say?"

Dashi was glaring at her, but behind his anger lay the softness of concern. "You know what I said," he told her, "It's for your own good. We have to keep quiet about this."

For her own good. Tala looked away, remembering her nightmare again. She shivered.

"Why?" she asked, her fingers curling around the fabric of her night coat.

"_Why_?" he echoed, "Because even if you _are_ destined to be a Xiaolin Dragon, they'll kill you. Being a witch is punishable by _death_, remember?"

Tala glared at him. "I meant _why_ are you _helping_ me," she snapped, cursing herself for choking up in front of a near stranger, "_What_ do you _want _from me?"

It was Dashi's turn to look confused. He backed away half a step as if she had slapped him. "What makes you think I want something?" he asked softly, "I just don't want to see a little kid get herself hurt."

Embarrassed, Tala folded her arms. "I'm not a little kid," she snapped, "I'm _twelve_ now, an' I don't need your help."

"You're little to _me_," he offered with a smile.

"I don't care," huffed Tala, turning her back on him. She tried to calm herself down, watching the snow, now beginning to fall, dust the surface of the ice.

"So those rumors from last year were true," mused Dashi. He stood beside Tala now, watching the peaceful scene with her. With a chuckle, he added, "Chase was always a terrible liar."

Tala shrugged. "It's not his fault," she said, "The Elders ordered the both of us to keep quiet about it."

Shyly, she looked at him out of the corner of her eye. A blush brought heat up into her neck when she said, "I'm sorry for not telling you, or Guan… It was all just a big mistake."

"What makes you say that?" he asked with his own shrug, "You belong here as much as the rest of us."

"You don't know what happened,"

"And you're not going to tell me,"

"No,"

Dashi sighed. "Are you scared?" he asked.

"Not so much anymore," Tala admitted, "I can control it better now, and it's good that I have Chase watching over me too."

"Is _that _why you guys spend so much time together," he laughed, "and _here_ I thought the two of you were sneaking off to '_be alone_,'"

Tala whipped her head to look at him, horrified, "_No_!"

Dashi giggled harder, nearly doubling into himself. "Yeah," he admitted, still chuckling, "Guan and I were taking bets to see which one of you were going to announce the engagement first!"

Tala pushed him and Dashi stumbled, bursting out into full laughter.

"I'm sorry," he cried as he sat on the ground, "I'm sorry! It's just too funny!"

"Jerk," growled Tala, bending down beside him, "Are you alright now?"

Dashi recomposed himself and lightly pushed her shoulder. "Yeah," he said, "Are _we_ okay?"

"How can we 'be okay' if we aren't friends?"

Silence filled the space between them, made heavier by the falling snow and bitter air. The two watched the clouds of their breath dance up toward the stars above the koi pond. It was a beautiful night, regardless of how Tala felt. Dashi leaned back onto his hands and Tala joined him, craning her neck to admire the moon.

"Do you _want _to be friends?" he suddenly asked.

"I don't know if we _can_ be friends," she admitted, "I sometimes wonder if I even have any."

"What about Chase?" he suggested, "You care about _him_, at least, right?"

Tala had to think about that. Over the past year, she opened up a little more to him; she had to, really. He was the only person she could actually be around and talk to, but she had to admit it was still very hard to trust him. She certainly _liked_ Chase, but Tala also could not help the feeling that something about their relationship was not quite right. With a sigh, she said, "I don't know."

"When you figure it out," he said, "tell me."

He sounded like Jia; perhaps that was why she was beginning to like him. She shrugged the feeling off and changed the subject, "You aren't going to tell anybody, right?"

Dashi snorted, which Tala took as a yes. He pushed her shoulder again to get her attention. "Hey," he said when Tala looked at him, "You don't have to worry about that, alright? My lips are sealed."

Tala blushed, touched by his kindness. "Thank you," she said, "But why do you want to protect me without wanting anything?"

"Look," he said, "I don't know who told you that people need something in return for your safety, but you're one of us. The Xiaolin Dragons need to look out for each other."

With a wink he added, "Even if none of us are Dragons yet."

Tala's blush deepened. She put both hands on her cheeks, surprised by her own reaction, and shocked her skin when the ice of her hands touched it. She hid the further embarrassment by leaning her elbows into her knees, letting her eyes wander back to the pond.

He was so kind.

"What are you smiling about?" Dashi asked, a grin of his own forming at the corners of his mouth.

Tala covered her mouth quickly; she hadn't realized. "Nothing," she mumbled behind her fingers.

"You were smiling about something," he teased, "Was it _Chase_?"

Tala whacked him, spitting out a "_No_," with a horrified laugh.

"You so were," he insisted, "Oh, _Chase_~"

"Stop it," she cried, laughing with him. She pushed him again and he stumbled over, giggling.

"Chase~" he laughed, imitating her brogue terribly, "I love you, Chase!"

"Shut up," she giggled, "you are such an idiot."

An idiot that she was beginning to like, no less.

* * *

**AN: And it begins. I can finally get into where I really want to be. We'll be meeting the villain soon~**


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: I do not own XS. This work is entirely fanmade.**

_Six_ Nothing Like Before_

_A flash of green_.

Tala dodged another punch.

_A woman's laugh_.

Tala ducked low, sweeping her leg out. Guan jumped over it. She shook the images off. '_I'm tired_,' she insisted to herself as she avoided his kick. It was nothing, it had to be nothing.

_A man fell, tripping just behind his fleeing family, only to be crushed by the foot of a rock giant. His wife screamed with terror_.

Tala blocked Guan's other foot as it came up to hit her chin and pushed it away from her, using the gap between them to roll and slide, sweeping her other leg up to trip him. '_Focus, Tala_,' she begged, '_They're just dreams_!'

Guan jumped back, avoiding her foot. He crouched into a stance, ready to attack her again.

_The woman was snatched up by the giant, her screams cut short by the merciless crunch of the beast's teeth severing her head. It dropped her body_.

Tala used the momentum of her roll to stand up only to be kicked in the head mid-stance. She was knocked back down to the ground with a sickening crack. Her skull was pounding. She lay there, trying not to panic. All she could hear was buzzing.

Slowly Tala sat up but Guan was gone. The vision had overtaken her. Her head and heart throbbed together as the world around her slowed.

_It was Mama standing there, with her back to Tala. _

"_Mum?" she called, but Tala could not hear her own voice above the buzzing, "Mama?"_

_She struggled to stand, staggering to keep her balance. The blow to her head bit into her with sharp teeth. _

_Mama turned, but it wasn't her. It was the Mama from Tala's nightmare, her green eyes holding no recognition of her daughter's voice, if she had even heard it at all. Mama smiled when she saw Tala, lips curling up past her fangs like a wolf about to devour its prey_. _Tala took a step back, preparing herself to run._

_The buzzing stopped, but a whisper filled her head instead. It was angry, raspy and filled with hatred- a voice unlike any other she had ever heard. It curled around her ears and scratched deeply into her chest like poison as it said, 'I am coming for you, Tala.'_

"No," she whispered as the vision faded. She crumpled to her knees, the world turning black. Before the darkness overtook her, she saw Guan run to catch her, calling her name without sound.

* * *

The silence was deafening. It filled Tala's head with wool and tightened her chest. Warm light spilled past her eyelids and, accompanied with the solid and heavy silence, Tala wondered if she would still be trapped in the vision if she opened her eyes.

She took a deep breath, waking up the rest of her body, and opened her eyes. She watched the dust motes dance above her in the light from the window, feeling rather calm in spite of everything else.

"You're awake," said Chase. His voice, though soft from the block in her ears, was easily recognizable. Her head felt heavy and it pulled on her neck painfully when she gingerly turned it to face him.

He smiled hesitantly, leaning his elbows on her bed to be closer to her while still sitting on the chair. He reached out a hand and felt her forehead with the back of it gently, the hardness of his knuckles just barely touching her skin.

"I suppose I am," she whispered, the harshness of her dry throat dulling her voice.

"I'm glad," he said with a nervous laugh, "I was worried there for a second."

"How long was I asleep?" she asked as Chase took his hand away and propped his chin up by his hands.

Chase shrugged. "A couple of hours at best," he told her, "We thought you were okay when you got up, but it looks like Guan kicked you a little harder than we realized. You stood there for a couple of seconds, then you just… _dropped_."

His amber eyes were brightened by the way the sun hit them, reminding Tala of the old tom cat that used to hang around by the kitchens. They watched her with gentleness, the softness of them reminding her of honey.

"Why are you staring at me like that?" she asked.

"I'm just happy that you're alright,"

Past him, on the windowsill, was an odd-looking shape. Encased in the shadow of the corner, she saw what looked like a bean standing upright on its own. Tala sat up, nursing the side of her head with her palm. Guan's kick must have been _hard_ for her to be seeing this. She blinked, clearing her eyes to get a second look, but by then the bean was gone.

"Hey, you're not looking too good," said Chase, putting a hand on Tala's shoulder to keep her steady.

"I _am_ a bit dizzy," she said, reasoning to herself that she really had just imagined the strange little shadow.

Chase placed his other hand on her shoulder, bringing Tala's attention back to his face. His thick eyebrows were knitted, stitched together with the bright thread of concern. "You didn't look so good out in the training sands, either," he added, "What was distracting you?"

Tala leaned back, pulling away with annoyance. "Nothing," she said, but Chase's wide eyes were accusing.

"I know it's not nothing," he told her, "Was it the same thing that's been giving you nightmares?"

"No," she lied.

"And why do you keep having the nightmares, anyway?" he went on, "Why won't you talk about them?"

"Why should I tell _you_?" growled Tala, heat building up in her fingertips. She curled them in tightly, willing it away.

"_Seriously_?" Chase scoffed, "It's not like I'm the one who's woken you up every night for the past two months to keep your magic from _throwing_ things everywhere."

Tala sighed, mainly in an attempt to calm herself down. "Look," she said, staring down at the blanket now bunched up in her hands, "I can't tell anyone about them. It's about something important that I promised to keep as a secret."

Chase leaned down, placing a heavy and warm hand on her back. "You can tell _me_," he said with a smile, "I've kept everything else a secret so far, haven't I?"

That smile looked a little bit too hopeful for Tala's liking. Besides, she still hadn't forgiven him for falling asleep on her the other night. She narrowed her eyes and flatly said, "No."

Chase's smile dropped like a stone, his own eyes narrowing. In the same tone of voice he said, "Really?"

"I'm not telling you, Chase," she affirmed.

He rolled his eyes with a goofy grin and stood up. He ruffled the top of her head lightly, the curls at the top staying in place thanks to the new extra volume. "Fine," he told her lightly, "But if you ever feel like telling someone- you know, to help yourself feel better- just give me a heads up, okay? I'm willing to listen."

Sadly, he possibly was the only person that would. That really didn't give Tala many options to work with as far as finding council was concerned and, to be honest, Chase would be the last person she would choose. She wished that she could trust him, but just couldn't in spite of all her best efforts to.

"Get some rest," Chase ordered before stepping out the door. Turning around to point at her, he added, "and no more nightmares. Got it?"

Tala rolled her eyes, smiling despite herself, and waved him off. Chase winked and then he was gone, immediately followed up by Guan.

The sheer mass of him filled the doorway as he ducked to walk in, looking rather awkward. He stood at the end of the bed, his eyes downcast and his presence distant though he was only standing about three feet away from her.

"Hi," Tala encouraged shyly.

His eyes flicked up to meet hers before looking down at his hands again. "Hi," he grunted.

Guan cleared his throat and fidgeted, unsure about what to do with his hands before resting one on the back of his head as if he had meant to check the quality at the top of his braid. "How are you-," he muttered nervously, "How are you feeling, Tala?"

Tala smiled, feeling bad for him. "I'm well," she told him, "I hope you haven't gotten into trouble on account of me. It wasn't your fault, really."

"No," he assured her, "but I _do _apologize. I knew that you were distracted and followed through with it anyway. I suppose I was still a bit sore from the assessments."

Heat crawled up Tala's neck as she remembered the uppercut she sent to his jaw. It was a cheap shot that she was not very proud of. "I should be the one apologizing," she admitted.

"I am glad that you are well, then," he said, awkwardly turning to leave.

"Wait,"

He turned back, looking mildly surprised.

"I know that you and I aren't friends," she said, "but we should at least not be walking on eggshells with each other like this."

"What do you suggest?" he questioned her with an eyebrow raised.

Tala nodded to the chair and Guan took the invitation to sit. Hunched over in the tiny space, looking rather uncomfortable, he waited for her answer with patient silence.

"We are paired together often, are we not?" she asked him pensively, regretting her words and wondering if it was too late to back out.

"Yes," he said with a nod, "we are."

"Then I think it's best if we try to understand one another," she proposed, feeling a bit foolish.

"You wish for us to know each other better,"

Tala nodded, embarrassment slapping her cheeks with heat.

He stared at her silently for a moment before saying, "You're right, Tala, we are _not _friends."

Tala looked at her hands, ashamed to even suggest something so ridiculous to a person whom she had not given so much as a smile to since they met.

"_But_," he added, to which Tala flinched, "I would like to be."

She looked at him, nearly swallowing her tongue. "Truly?" she gulped.

Guan smiled. "What would you like to know?" he asked.

"Where you are from," she admitted shyly, "Chase had told me once that you did not grow up with him here."

"I am from a village in the northern mountains," he said, "We were exiled when the Heylin invaded and took over the high peaks. My family and I traveled three years until we reached the Xiaolin Temple. We were lucky to have escaped with our lives."

There was that word again. Something itched at the back of Tala's brain. It echoed like the soft ringing of a bell, drawing her curiosity, but she pushed it away.

"Why do you wear those beads around your neck?" she asked, ignoring the call in her mind to ask more about these mysterious Heylin.

"My father was a respected holy man from our village and when he died, he passed these beads on to me," said Guan, rubbing the chain between his finger and thumb thoughtfully, "I wear them in honor of him, to remember where my roots lie."

"Roots are important," she agreed. She noticed white markings on some of them and asked in her curiousity, "What are those symbols on them?"

Guan looped the chain of beads over his head and passed it to her. "They are words," he said, "The characters of life and death; rebirth, endings, and beginnings."

Tala stared at the white characters blankly, running her thumb over the one on the bead in her hand.

"What is the matter?" he asked, leaning closer.

"I cannot read men's words," she admitted, handing the chain back to him, "But they _are_ beautiful."

"I should have known," he said softly, "forgive me."

"There is no need to," she dismissed, "I am a girl. Women are not meant to read."

Guan smiled, his smirk thoughtful and playful. Tala narrowed her eyes, wondering what was so funny. Guan chuckled, possibly because of the look on her face.

"What?"

"You are more than a simple girl, Tala," he told her, "You are now a Xiaolin Dragon in training. Your status outweighs your gender."

"That does not change the fact that I cannot read," she pointed out, "I did not suddenly gain the ability through my inheritance."

"Not the ability, no," he admitted, "But the _opportunity_ to. As the first mark of our friendship, allow me to teach you how to read."

"_Me_," she choked, "read?"

"And write," he added with a smile, "As a Xiaolin Dragon, you should be versed in all enlightened things, whether your beginnings are humble or not."

"I suppose you'll teach me how to dance, too," she said, thinking this was all rather ridiculous, "Or perhaps to play the ruan."

"We shall see about the reading and writing first," he joked, "Master Young always told us to sharpen our mind and our spirit as well as our bodies. It is important for us as the protectors of the world to have a full mastery of the three."

Tala slapped one hand over the other quickly, panicing when heat burned them. _Of course_ Master Young did not tell her this! She wrung her hands, trying to calm herself down, but she was too angry. Her nails bit into her skin as she fought for control against her magic.

"Tala," said Guan, "Are you alright?"

Tala tensed and looked at him, digging her nails in harder as her hands burned like the crackling heat of a fire. "Yes," she lied with a strangling squeak, "I'm just… _overwhelmed_, is all."

"Don't worry," he assured her, taking her hands gently. Tala took a calming breath, willing herself to calm down. She was lucky that the fire in her hands obeyed this time, "we will just have to be patient with ourselves."

* * *

Tala spent three months under Guan's tutelage. Though the progress came along slowly, she felt a little more than optimistic about her improvement. To be honest, her ability to read was subpar at best and her writing skills were horrendous, but at least she now could decipher the differences between more than four characters.

Guan was a patient and wonderful teacher, encouraging Tala when she became frustrated and threatened giving up. For the first time since coming to the Temple, Tala felt like she could truly trust someone. There was something about this boy that calmed her down, that made her feel safe.

He was not playful like Dashi, nor flashy like Chase, but something more mature. It gave Tala a sense of peace. He had a quiet strength to him like Mama, but his size reminded her of Papa. He made her think of home and it encouraged her to keep pushing forward.

"Can you read this for me?" asked Guan, pointing to the stream of characters running down the scroll's paper.

Tala furrowed her brows, struggling to keep her voice in the right set of tones, "In the...eighth...century, troops from the-"

With a frustrated growl she leaned back, closing her eyes. She breathed in a heavy breath slowly through her mouth and out of her nose.

"You are doing well, Tala," encouraged Guan, "Do not give up yet."

He pointed to another row that was shorter than the last and offered, "Try this one."

"The troops were..hosts of a _dinner_ _party_?"

Guan chuckled. "Given wishes of fortune," he corrected, "The symbols at the end are different, see? You had _Qing_ right, but you read the next symbol as _Ke_, an invitation to guests. The true symbol is _An_, good health."

Tala sighed, "I am _never_ going to learn the differences between all of these characters, am I?"

"We have spent only a few months on this, Tala," he reminded her, "Never say never. You are progressing very well,"

"For a girl?" she asked flatly.

"For someone who has had no prior experiences with reading or writing in her family," he assured gently.

Tala sighed again, the end of it laced with a yawn. Learning was much more tiring for her than she thought.

"We can rest for awhile," Guan suggested brightly, "There is nothing more refreshing than conversation and tea."

He reached out behind him and plucked the tea tray from the sun table beside the window with a grin.

Tala smiled. She could hardly disagree with him. She liked the conversations they had together. Guan was more open to listening to her than Chase ever was. Where speaking with Chase was always a one-sided conversation, speaking with Guan was a mutual exchange of words and ideas. She admired his quiet nature for that.

"I actually have a confession to make," said Guan as he poured the tea for them both, "I never quite understood you."

"In what way?" she asked, receiving her cup from him with both hands.

"Chase has had a strange interest in you from the start," he said, "though it is hard to discern the reason. By all standards, you were just a little girl who worked in the kitchens. There was absolutely nothing special about you. But, I always caught him sneaking off after practice or staring off and sitting out of the conversation at mealtimes. One day my curiosity got the better of me and I realized that he was not staring off. He was looking at you. You, the _tiniest_ thing in the room peaked his interest and I could not fathom the idea why."

* * *

No, Guan knew why. He was just covering his tracks. Why in the _world_ had he thought to bring it up? The slip of his tongue had him grasping for lies instead of truth, but judging by the dull look of grey confusion in Tala's eyes, the embarrassed heat in his neck had not given him away.

Tala looked away from him, her eyes downcast and distant. He noticed her clenching her hands, like she always did, with the yellow cloth of her robes crumpled between her fingers.

"I know why," she whispered. Guilt crept around her tiny voice and Guan instantly felt guilty himself for bringing up Chase's feelings for her. Perhaps it was best to leave this well enough alone...

Damn his curiosity.

"You do?" he asked, swallowing the sandpaper down with tea.

"I'm not really supposed to tell you," she stammered, clenching her fists more tightly, "Besides, there is nothing really to say. He's just… forceful."

Guan nearly choked, "_Excuse_ me?"

"What?" she perked up, flustered. He could barely understand her thick, mumbling voice as she struggled with it, "Oh, _no_, I didn't- I, uh, he just,"

She sighed deeply, as if rumbling the very deep of her core, and composed herself. Her accent still hung like a heavy cloak, but she spoke more clearly, "Chase is a _good_ boy," she insisted, "But in the end, he's always sure to get what he wants. He just would _not_ leave me alone. Day in and day out he would come to the kitchens, handing me his ripped clothes and carrying on conversation. He just would not _shut up_, so I had to give in and become his friend."

"His..._friend_," echoed Guan, his heartbeat slowly returning to normal. Thank goodness; he was about to have the need to speak a few words to that idiot.

"Yes," she said, "I'm sorry if I caused you to misinterpret,"

"Oh, no, no, please," Guan assured, embarrassed for her, "It was a misunderstanding."

He decided to choose a different approach. Clearing his throat he asked, "But, while we are on the subject- if you do not mind my asking- do you feel mutually about him? As a _friend_, of course?"

Tala rolled her eyes. "Yes, obviously," she snorted, "but it is easy to admit that Chase has his faults too. He is picky and spoiled and insists on _always_ having his way. Hardly someone I would voluntarily choose to be the companion of…. Not that I had a _choice_ then."

She played with one of her braids shyly. "I suppose," she admitted with a warm glow adding itself to her dark cheeks, "that I could thank that annoying persistence of his for all of this. I'd still be sleeping in the kitchens if it weren't for Chase visiting me every day."

Guan smiled. At least _that _was something.

"How did you and Chase become friends?" she asked, "Are the two of you close?"

"The best of," he confirmed with a proud smile, "I admit that we did not really get along until after my father's death. He reached out a hand in comfort when I had no one else left in the world."

Tala looked away and he studied the contemplative look on her face with a swell of happiness.

"You see, Tala," he continued, "Chase's personality may seem overbearing at first, but he _does _have a good heart. He means well, truly."

"I don't doubt it," she said quickly, "but sometimes I feel that everything he says is some sort of trick in order to get the things he wants out of people."

Tala shut her mouth quickly, tensing. Guan guessed, judging by the moon-like saucers that were once her eyes, that she had not meant to say such a thing aloud.

He was afraid if this.

"I've often felt the same," he admitted.

Guan sighed and scratched the stubble above his braid. "But, that was because we had only just met and I did not know him well enough," he added, "Chase is the type of person to use his charisma to charm people, but he does not intend to hurt anyone with it. He has always just been aware of the effect he has on others and has learned to adapt to it in his own way, I suppose."

Tala's shoulders relaxed, but Guan could see her throat bob. Her cheeks glowed again and her eyes, wide and bright though they were, cast themselves to the floor.

"So," she squeaked, "How did you meet Dashi?"

"Just as you did," he answered, "I was chosen as the next Earth Dragon and began training alongside him and Chase. Though I was a little more than offset by Chase's forwardness and arrogance, I found that it was _even more_ difficult warming up to Dashi. He was friendly, and..._calmer _than Chase was, but there was a sadness to him. It was as if he were distancing himself from us. Much the same as what I've seen in _you_, actually."

Tala tensed again. "I'm sorry," she told him, her shoulders slumping submissively.

"Why are you sorry?" he laughed. Honestly, this girl was as timid as a _hen_.

"I do not mean to be so cold," she admitted sadly.

"I know that you do not," he answered, "but I also know that whatever it is that you are keeping hidden is not worth being alone for. Whatever burdens you are holding on to will become a lot lighter when you let others share the weight with you."

Tala seemed to shrink into herself. She wrung the cloth in her hands again, biting her lower lip. He hoped that she would say something, but instead they sat in uncomfortable silence for a while.

Guan drank from his tea, watching her. It had grown cold and his tongue stuck itself to the roof of his mouth from the bitterness of it.

"I have a confession to make," whispered Tala.

Guan was silent, encouraging her with a nod.

Tala breathed in deep and released it with a sigh. Upon the edge of that sigh was the smallest of murmurs; "I think I love him."

Guan hardly registered what she meant. The corners of his mouth turned up in his confusion. "What?" he asked hesitantly.

"Dashi," she said, meeting his eyes with silver finality, "I think that I _may_ be in love with him."

Guan tried to swallow, but found that he could not choke back the surprise and disappointment plaguing the ball in his throat. "That's surprising," he said with a leveled voice. Taking another sip of his cold tea he added, "What's brought this on? You've hardly talked to _me_ about him."

"Well, I-" she stammered, the resolve in her eyes waning and giving way to the embarrassed flush in her cheeks, "I know it sounds strange. _I'm_ the first to say it, but… Guan, he...There's something _about_ him that….he's _kind_ and…._unboastful_...and he…"

Guan could not fight his impatience. He gave in; "And what about Chase?" he asked, choking down another dreadful sip, "You've known him longer than either of us. Surely you would be more likely to attach yourself to _him_ instead."

Tala's embarrassment melted into annoyance. "You admitted yourself that he is hard to trust," she clipped, "Chase may be my closest friend, but I can't help the feeling that he has some sort of ulterior motive for everything that he does. I cannot tell if he is _ever_ speaking the truth."

"Has Chase ever lied to you?" asked Guan, feeling annoyed himself.

"No," she admitted, "Not really."

"Then what has led you to believe that he ever has?" he persisted, "What makes you think that he is not telling you the truth?"

"_It_ is _just_ a feeling," she snapped, "It is as if every word he speaks has a double meaning attached to it and the thought frightens me. I simply cannot trust him Guan! _Believe_ me, I've tried!"

"You claim that Chase is your closest friend," he said, "and yet you feel more drawn to a boy you hardly know. Tala, I hardly think that you have thought any of this through. Logically, if anything, you simply have a high adoration for Dashi. It is not love. It cannot be love."

"I know it sounds foolish," she argued, "but when I am around Chase I feel smothered. And even when I am around you, despite your kindness and willingness to listen to my thoughts, I feel as though I am not truly your equal."

Guan felt a little hurt by that, but remained silent and let her go on.

"But being around Dashi is different from that," she said, "He does not force his friendship like Chase does. And, though I respect your opinions very much, he also does not talk down to me as you sometimes do. He is lively and gentle and even if these feelings I have for him are _not really_ love, then at least I can say that I admire his kindness. The way I feel around him is separate from everyone else and it is something that I cannot explain."

"That does not mean that you are in love with him, Tala," reasoned Guan, "You are becoming a woman, but your mind is still that of a child's. It is a dangerous mixture. You cannot explain your feelings because you have yet to understand them."

Tala narrowed her eyes. "I am not an idiot, Guan," she told him flatly.

Guan rolled his eyes, frustrated. _Girls_.

"My point is," he said, "that you do not _know_ Dashi. You have deceived yourself into believing that your feelings of _admiration_ are feelings of adoration. "

"You may be right," she said, "But that does not change how I feel, only what that feeling may be."

"I know," he answered.

They sat again in silence and Guan festered in aggravation. He saw that Tala too had a stubborn glare on her face, her frown puckered by the sourness of the cold tea she was sipping. She unsuccessfully tried to hide her displeasure of it. Her eyes winced before she put her cup back down.

"You never truly answered my question about Chase," said Guan quietly.

"_What _question?" hissed Tala through her teeth.

"How has Chase not told you the truth?"

"I already gave you the answer," she snapped, "It is a feeling I have that-"

"A feeling is not an answer," he interjected, "If you wish for me to think of you as an adult then act like one."

"What is your _problem_?"

"You are complaining like a child," he told her, fighting to keep his voice leveled, "Give me a solid answer if you want me to take you seriously."

Tala glared at him, snapping her mouth shut. She clenched her jaw and balled her fists, staring at him with such an intense glower that her grey eyes looked almost white from the glint of bitterness in them.

"You have nothing to say," he challenged.

He watched her throat bob, but she did not answer.

"Look," he said, "I am not saying that your feelings are invalid, but a 'feeling' is not a firm fact. They are as fickle as the wind and do not stay in one place for very long. Many run under a falsely perceived notion, such as is the possibility of you being unable to trust Chase for whatever reason you are refusing to tell me. "

He stood and Tala's gaze dropped to the floor, though the hatred in her eyes did not falter. She looked as though she was practically shaking from anger, but he had one other thing to say.

"I have said so myself that I am also guilty of it," he assured her as his anger faded and guilt for making Tala upset began to settle in, "_I_ of all people would know what this feels like."

She still said nothing, but shifted uncomfortably, clenching her fists until her brown knuckles turned yellow.

"Do yourself a favor and give him a chance," Guan insisted, "Put whatever caused you to mistrust him aside for a moment. Look at him for who he _really_ is and you will see that Chase is a trustworthy friend after all."

* * *

Two days passed while Tala chewed over what Guan had told her. She was still sullen about it and was even more sour that she had to admit the truth in what he had said. Even still, he had a point; she needed to give Chase a chance to prove that he indeed _was_ trustworthy if only to put her unease at rest. She had _just _the idea...

"Chase," she called when she spotted him by the koi pond.

Chase smiled when she joined him and plopped herself down on the dried, brown grass. She could see his breath when he asked, "What is it that you wanted to talk to me about?"

"Well," she said, "you know how you've always asked to watch me practice my magic?"

"And how you've always said no?" he added playfully, "Yes, I remember."

"I want to practice tonight," said Tala with a smile, though her insides were twisting. Her instincts were screaming at her to stop so fiercely that her throat closed in on her voice.

"You want to practice _every_ night, Tala," he said, "What's your point?"

She answered flatly, "I'm inviting you to join me."

"Right," Chase snorted, "and I'll just hide behind the wall like I always do to keep watch so that nobody else finds out."

"You're really that _dense_, aren't you," she accused snidely, "I want you to be a part of it tonight."

"Wait," said Chase, doubletaking in shock, "_Seriously_?"

A smile spread slowly across his face as she answered, "Well, you _have_ told me from the beginning that you want to learn more about magic, so I figured that you'd might learn even better if you...Stop _smiling_ like that."

She flicked the side of his mouth and Chase dropped the grin into a frown while he rubbed at the spot she had made sore.

"This is _only _for tonight," she warned him sternly, "got it?"

"Yes," he chirped quickly, "I _completely_ understand! Don't you worry about a _thing_; I will not push _anything_ unless you are willing to let me in on more sessions after this, I _swear_."

Tala had to admit that she felt happy for him. Chase was finally going to get his wish after a year of sticking close beside her, and yet she could not shake the feeling that something was utterly wrong.

* * *

Chase could not help the smile on his face. Night had fallen and he was making his way to the meeting place. Tala was already there, he knew, and if he set his tiles right, she would be eating out of his hand in no time. He just needed to convince her that he was willing enough and trustworthy enough to learn her secrets.

Not that it would be hard. She was a smart girl, but not completely invulnerable. Beneath that hard shell was a bundle of nervous energy. Chase just needed to find a way to work that to his advantage.

He had felt it before; very painfully at that. It was the reason why she had not let him get too close. Even under her guise of friendship, Chase could see that Tala was keeping him at arms length. He could hardly blame her. She obviously did not trust him.

That didn't matter much. The point _was_ that he had invested far too much time into this relationship to just leave it alone. All he needed to do was play along tonight, be a good boy, and soon-very, _very _soon- he would know everything he would ever _need _to know about Tala and her magic.

He leaned against the edge of the wall, smiling in on the tiny courtyard where Tala was meditating. She always did that before telling him to turn around and keep watch so that she would be able to practice in peace. Tonight, however, he wouldn't have to.

Pushing himself up, Chase decided to let his presence be known before he could accidentally startle her. There was no room for mistakes tonight.

"Glad to see you've gotten the party started without me," he joked lightly.

Tala turned around and smiled, making the half-moon shape of her eyes crinkle into crescents. She practically bounced up to her feet as he walked down to meet her beneath the willow tree.

"Are you ready to get started, then?" she asked in that strange little accent of hers. It made him think of wind chimes this time, hanging on the edge of her voice like the cloak that was wrapped loosely around her shoulders; soft and elegant. He liked it _much_ better this way.

"I'm ready when you are," he answered, "Grand Master Wei's eunuch is keeping guard for us. I _kind _of told him that you wanted to try something different tonight."

"Let's hope that he does not expect much, then," she said, no longer smiling.

"Was that not okay?"

"I'm not even sure if I can really do many tricks myself," she answered, folding her arms, "let alone teach _you_ anything."

He highly doubted that. Chase knew _exactly_ what Tala was capable of. This fake modesty of hers was not doing the girl any favors. It only made him more curious.

"Hey," he assured her, "you got this. Just show me some of the stuff you already know pretty well, okay?"

Now to turn on the charm.

He pretended to pluck a leaf from Tala's hair just near her shoulder. "You have your hair down tonight," he observed, though he'd already noticed it the minute he had seen her, "I like it. Reminds me of the night we met, actually. Very pretty."

The look on Tala's frozen face was hilarious. She was stuck in time for a couple of seconds before tucking the strands he had touched behind her ear. "I normally wear my hair down when I practice," she snipped, bringing out the rice mouth in full force, "...Not that you'd know, since I've never allowed you to actually watch me."

She turned away from him. How cute, she was embarrassed. Chase knew it was rude to snort, but he didn't care. This was amusing. Just as he'd thought; she'd be eating out of his hand in _no time_.

He shoved his hands into his coat pockets and walked to her side, leaning over to get as close to her face as possible.

"It's better than those dumb _pigtails_ you wear all of the time now, anyway," he said, "I'm surprised those braids even stay in place with your curls like that. How do you even manage?"

"Are we going to discuss my hair or are we going to practice magic?" she snapped, turning her head away again.

This was too fun for his own good. She was much more reluctant than the other girls, which was new. She was quite possibly the first girl to actually _want_ to get away from his face. Her anger just made it all the more hilarious.

"Are you _blushing_?" he persisted with a laugh, "You are! You are _so_ blushing!"

"Shut up," she said, whirling around and slapping his shoulder, "Stop leaning so close to me."

"Aw, poor baby," he said, "Does somebody have a crush?"

Flatly, she answered "No," and then pushed past him to stand directly under the willow tree.

"I don't blame you," he said, unable to help himself. This was far, _far_ too fun, "I'm pretty popular. It's not uncommon for young girls like you to fall for a clever and dashing Wudai warrior like myself."

Tala turned to face him, looking far less than amused. "Are you done _squawking_ like a big old rooster," she asked, or so he _thought_ she asked. He honestly could barely understand her by this point, "or are we _actually_ going to be doing anything tonight? Because if all you want to do is _joke around_, then I'll-"

"Alright, alright," he soothed. So much for his charms, "calm down. I'm done. I just wanted to loosen you up a little, that's all. Looks like I all I did was just wind you up _tighter_."

Tala rolled her eyes. She was such a funny girl, really. One minute she was sweet and cute then the next she would be sour and bratty at the snap of a finger. He was a bit amazed by how quickly she could change.

"Let's get started then," she said, her accent clearing back into something much more discernible. She pointed to one of the tree's raised roots and said, "_Sit._"

Chase obeyed quickly, knowing that it would be much easier for him not to anger her further. Plan One worked. He'd tested her out to see just exactly where her fuse ended and what he could get away with. He had suspected it to be short by her outbursts before, but _wow_. Now was time for Plan Two; wait and observe.

"The first thing that I am going to do," she explained, "is focus myself by centering my magic into my core. I do this through meditation. I feel heat in my hands first, but I will _know_ that I am centered when I can feel it in my stomach as well."

She sat down and began to meditate, straightening her back and holding her fists together at their knuckles. Several minutes passed by in silence until Tala opened her eyes again. She stood up, staring down at him with a blank stare. Her silver eyes seemed brighter than before and stared through him as if he were the wind itself.

"That's _it_?" he scoffed, "No calling of spirits, no _raising_ the dead? You just meditate?"

"Yes," she said contently, "besides, I'm not a witch. I am not casting any _curses_."

"The _Elders_ would beg to differ," he mumbled in reply.

"Because of my nightmares I still have trouble keeping my emotions in check," she told him. It was Chase who rolled his eyes this time. _Yes_, he knew; "so I need to meditate in order to have a better control over myself."

"I hope the rest of the night is not as boring as this," he joked in spite of actually feeling this way, "I did not come here just to freeze my ass off and watch you sit in the snow."

"Oh don't _worry_," she assured him lightly, scampering past him with a skip, "I am only just getting started."

Oh _goodie_.

Chase watched her kneel down and dig her hands into the snow. He winced, feeling his own fingers growing numb in his pockets.

"What are you doing now?" he called, watching her make three rather large snowballs and place them beside each other, one by one.

Tala looked back at him with a playful shrug and a smile. "I thought it would be fun to show you how I have improved since you've seen me do magic last," she answered and scooped the three balls into her arms. They were large enough for her face to be blocked by them as she waddled back, careful not to drop them.

She placed the snowballs down gently and took a step back. "Watch," she told him.

Tala stretched out her hands over the three snowballs. They instantly shot up into the air, hovering just beneath her palms. They bobbed as she held them there, her face rigid from concentration.

They sprang forth suddenly, rushing up into the bare branches of the willow, dancing with one another. Tala was the puppeteer, twirling beneath them with her arms fanned out like a bird. She slowed and the earth seemed to still itself right along with her. The snowballs drifted to the ground like feathers, slowly falling.

Chase held his hands out as one of them made its way to his lap. It was no longer a white ball of snow, but one made out of pure ice. It was so fine and clear that he could see Tala smiling at him through it when he held it to his face and inspected it. He put the ball of ice down beside him, his eyes now focused entirely on her.

Something was different then, as their eyes met. She wasn't the same child he had met in this courtyard a year ago. She was no longer timid or closed off, afraid to let any light in. She was now self aware and unafraid to face what her unknown magic could do. The dull grey of her tired eyes had given way to something brighter and happier. Their shine could rival even the stars. He was in awe of them and how they gave Tala's very presence vibrancy.

She did not just have power now. She had _life_.

He wanted it.

"You really have changed," he said.

"I've only really just perfected that," she said, walking over and pucking the ice ball up. She sat down beside him, twirling it between her two middle fingers. It spun with a lazy half turn before dropping back down to its original place. Tala kept playing with it, watching the ball swing then fall back after coming so close to spinning fully.

Though she was an amusing sight, he asked "What else can you do?"

Tala put the ice ball back into his lap and looked at him, the corners of her mouth turning crooked with a smirk. "I had a feeling you would ask that," she answered, "Let me borrow you for a minute."

Tala stood up and began to clamber over his shoulders. Chase began laughing until she painfully stepped on the back of his neck. "Watch the hair, will ya," he grunted, "There are some girls who actually _do _like me for my looks."

"That's because they don't know your personality," she snipped, now standing up on his shoulders.

Chase mimicked her under his breath snidely, though he had to admit that it was a good comeback. She stepped on his head, apparently trying to reach higher. Aggravated, he cried "Ow, _seriously_! What are you _doing_?"

"Calm down, you big baby," she snapped before jumping down behind him, "I needed a stick and the branches were too high for me."

Chase rubbed the sore spot on the back of his head. "And you _couldn't_ just find one on the ground?"

Tala looked at the broken half of the branch in her hand with the smallest trace of regret and confusion; "Oh… right,"

"You didn't think this through, did you?" he asked, smiling in spite of the annoyance still creeping up his neck.

"Actually, I have," she said, "The _fine_ details, though, not so much."

"Lovely,"

Tala took a deep breath and held the stick out in front of her, pointed towards him. With a sly smile on her face, she asked "Are you _ready_, Chase Young?"

Chase suppressed a yawn; "For what?"

"_This_!" she shouted. The stick immediately raced toward him, fast as a thrown dagger.

"_What the hell are you doing_?" he cried, ducking. He expected full well for the stick to fly right over his head, but it didn't. Chase looked up to see that stupid sick just inches from his nose, the broken and jagged end of it, no less. Was she _trying _to kill him?

"Pretty neat, huh?" asked Tala, her arm still outstretched, "I have enough mastery over my push now to make the objects I choose to do whatever I want. I am in _complete_ control."

"I've noticed," he answered flatly.

"A year ago that would have killed you," she added with a shrug, "_Probably_."

"I get your point," he said, "You can put the stick down now."

Tala rolled her eyes and swung her arm, causing the stick to hurtle toward the wall. It splintered against the stone and shattered into tiny peices, scattering over the snow.

"Impressive," said Chase with an appreciative smirk. Indeed, her tricks _were_ impressive, but he knew that Tala still had something to hide. He could feel it; there had to be more.

"Anything _else_," he said, "oh _mighty_ master of witchcraft?"

"Oi," she said, her hands on her hips, "_You_ were the one who wanted to 'learn my secrets,' weren't you? Why are you rushing this?"

"Because it's _boring_," he lied, "I've seen you do this before; on _me_, remember? Try showing me something I _haven't_ seen."

Tala dropped her arms to her side. Her face was open and sad, hurt even. "That's all I have," she told him quietly, "I've been practicing that so I wouldn't hurt you when it came time for me to let everyone know that I _have_ magic."

For _him_? Really? Did Tala _honestly_ think he was _that_ fragile?

"Well, it's good _progress_ at least," he told her with a shrug and a sigh.

Fabulous. Studying her push magic would only get him so far. Not that it wasn't interesting or even that it was not worth studying, but the problem was that there was no way he would have been able to apply it to himself without first awakening his own Dragon magic. He needed something that had to do with the _elements_, not object manipulation- at least not yet.

_Unless_.

"I have an idea," he said, rising to his feet.

Tala looked rather suspicious of him. Folding her arms, she asked "_Do_ you?"

"I know how you can explore more of your push magic," he said with a smile, "and improve your fighting skills at the same time."

Tala arched an eyebrow, but other than that she looked highly unconvinced. "I'm listening,"

"I can teach you a few moves," said Chase simply, "and all you'd really have to do is apply your magic to them."

"Sounds simple enough," she said, seemingly impassive. At first Chase thought she wouldn't go for it, but then she smiled, "I'm in."

"Copy what I do," Chase told her. He formed a circle with his arms with the palms of his hands facing each other.

Tala followed, awkwardly mirroring him with the opposite position of her arms. Chase waited with a sigh, hoping that his less than subtle cue was more telling that she was wrong than the feeling that should have been in her arms from the strange position, which she apparently could not feel. Realizing her mistake with a mumbled apology, she quickly switched them to the more natural position.

"Okay," he said, loosening his legs, "relax your knees."

Once she did as he had instructed, he stepped his left leg to the side and shifted his weight, rolling the ball slowly. He paused to watch her attempt, staying in his own position.

She copied him elegantly. Surprising, since Tala was probably the least coordinated warrior he had ever seen. Her eyes were on him, focused and serious. The silver of them looked brighter from her determination.

Keeping eye contact, and being sure not to move the new position of his hands, he shifted his body again, letting the ball follow it. Tala followed, but this was where the smoothness of her mirroring ended. She turned her hands too early and dropped the invisible ball in her confusion.

Chase brought himself out of the stance, aligning himself with the flattening of his down-faced palms that reseted at his center, before walking over to join Tala. He gently took one of her wrists and stood behind her.

"What are you doing?" she asked. Chase could feel the air between them still as her back stiffened.

"It's okay," he soothed, though annoyed by her blatant distrust of him, "just relax. I'm going to show you something. You're way too stiff in the shift of the stance and it's pushing you out of focus and off balance."

"Oh," she squeaked, letting him move her as he wrapped his arm around and took her other wrist.

"Let your knees be loose," he reminded her, "Don't lock them. That's what will help you with a smoother transition."

"Okay," she said, turning her wrists loosely cupped him his hands to face one another. He could tell that she did not like being his puppet, but he could hardly say that she had the choice right now.

He mirrored her leg positioning and slowly helped her to form the ball again. "Now remember what I showed you," he said quietly, "Roll the ball over slowly.

Gently, he guided her through the motion, simply keeping Tala on track and letting her do the rest.

"That's it," he encouraged, "Now hold form and follow through."

Tala did as she was told, letting Chase keep her arms aligned until Tala finished the reposition of the circle. Tala looked back at him and smiled that funny grin of hers, giggling and proud of herself. He smiled, feeling her contagious happiness.

He let go and she finished the move, repeating the first step to rest back on the weight of the leg she started from. Chase stepped back to give her space as she realigned herself with a slow breath.

She turned to face him. "Thank you," she said, "I suppose I'm not that good of a visual learner."

"I've noticed," he teased. It was strange, but something in him seemed to shift when he watched her smile drop. He wanted to take those words back, which was a rare thought to ever cross his mind. His heart skipped from it. He did not know if this feeling was quite embarrassment, but he stuttered from it anyway as he lost face for that small moment, "you're welcome."

He cleared his throat, composing himself smoothly with a fold of his arms and a grin. "Are you ready to try it on your own again?"

"I can try," offered Tala with an unsure shrug.

Chase gave her the go ahead with a flick of his hand and a smile. Tala began the exercise, fluidly going through the motions. She wasn't perfect, still stiff in her back and legs a bit, but it would do for now.

"Try it again," he instructed when she came to rest, "but this time, add your magic to it."

Tala looked back at him again, worried. "Are you sure?" she asked with a slight whine.

Chase rolled his eyes. "We won't be able to see what you can do unless you expand your skills, right?" he asked, "Do you _want _to control your magic better or not?"

Tala did not say anything, but turned away again. Her back was visibly tense, risen up with her shoulders and rigid arms.

"_Relax_," Chase warned with an annoyed drawl, "Don't get stiff. Make sure that you breathe normally. You'll be okay. I'm _right_ here behind you."

Tala took a deep breath and dropped her shoulders, loosening her back. She began the exercise again. As she formed the circle with her hands, Chase could feel a pull. It was as if the wind were blowing at his back, but no breeze touched him.

Chase looked at Tala, something warm within him stirring. He could _feel_ her magic. It was calling to him. He watched with anticipation and awe as she went through with the position. The air around her was still. Tala was in an invisible bubble that he could not touch and the wall of it solidified with every move she made.

"Chase?" she called, sounding unsure and very frightened. She did not turn around, her voice sounding on the verge of panic.

"It's okay, Tala," he said, unable to contain the emotion that bubbled up from his chest and spread across his face with an overwhelming smile, "I'm right here. Keep going."

But the moment those words left his mouth, energy shot forth, invisible and terrifying. It blasted the wall, hitting the crack dead-center. Tala was blasted backward and into him. Both fell onto the ground and instinctively, Chase wrapped his arms around Tala, guarding her head.

"Are you alright?!" shouted a voice from behind the wall.

It was the eunuch, all limbs and nerves, heaving and puffing from rushing to their aid. He shook visibly from his scare but was more-or-less alright. He offered his bony hand to Tala, who took it and allowed him to help her stand.

Chase pushed himself up from the ground. "Tala!" he panicked. He took Tala's face into his hands, shuddering from the scare, "Are you alright? Are you hurt?"

"I'm okay," she insisted, though she was crying, "I'm okay!"

Brushing some of the hair away from her warm cheeks, he studied her face, scanning every detail for signs of injury. She was shaking too, and despite a few terrified tears, she did not look any more worse for wear than he did. He nearly threw up from relief and bent from the weakening in his knees, letting his hands drop to her shoulders.

"Are _you_ okay?" she asked, though her words were hardly recognizable.

He wanted to laugh. Here he was putting Tala in danger and _she_ was worried about _him_. He began chuckling as tears came to his eyes too.

He didn't care that the eunuch could see. He burst out laughing, tears streaming down his face, and he wrapped Tala into a hug, burying his face into her hair. He could not admit just how terrified he was of her being hurt, but at least he could laugh at his stupidity and relief.

"You crazy little witch," he mumbled, holding her tightly, "You scared me half to death."

"It was _your _suggestion," she answered, hugging him back. He could feel her arms shaking against him, a sigh from her releasing a violent shudder.

"You are such a brat," he said back, thankful that she could still be sarcastic, "Don't scare me like that anymore, okay?"

"Um," said the eunuch with a squeak, "honored apprentices?"

They broke away to look at him.

The eunuch's face was pale and he shook with such violence that he hardly looked capable of standing upright on his own, rocking back on his heels. He pointed one of his twig-like fingers toward the wall in front of them. Tala and Chase followed to where it pointed.

The wall's crack was split wide open. Some of the still loose rubble around the crack fell with a wet thud onto the snow. His heart began to pound. So, _this_ is what magic could do when it was properly controlled. He was one step closer to understanding it.

"We must go, honored ones," insisted the eunuch with a nervous twitter, "There will be no way to explain the noise of the wall falling without blackening the trainee's name if we stay here."

Tala let go of him and followed the eunuch as he scurried back toward the open gate.

"Hurry," he insisted, "we must go and inform Grand Master Wei of this. He will want to hear the news."

"What news?" Chase heard Tala ask as they got farther away from him.

His eyes were transfixed on the wall, mesmerized by the sheer force of power behind the blast to have fissured it so. He could still hear their voices, but they were muffled, muted by his lack of attention.

That power had nearly killed them. It was so frightening, horribly terrifying, yet absolutely beautiful. Though he had a near brush of death, Chase was hardly deterred. No, it made him crave her magic more. He needed to harness that power for himself.

"Chase,"

The light touch of Tala's hand on his shoulder startled him and he whirled on her with a guilty gasp. Her eyes, wide and bright, held confusion and uncertainty. "We...have to go," she told him, "Are you sure that you are alright?"

No, he wasn't. He was frightened.

It was in the moment that she had fallen, thrown back by her own magic, that Chase realized what he had truly felt. He was horrified at the thought of losing Tala, of seeing her in pain. This girl, once a means to an end in his plans for obtaining the power he deserved, had wrapped herself around his heart.

He did not just need Tala's magic to complete him.

He needed _her_.

* * *

**AN: Well,_ look_ at that. I hate them all so much. **

**And, _now_ we're getting into Tala's crush territory and I'm really going to be hating all four of them for a while. Hopefully doing their actual job will distract from that... probably. I hate this part, but hopefully you won't. **

**I promise, the romance will not be _too_ distracting. It's just a necessary part of the plot. It's just something I have to do to set up some later things. I myself do not much like romance, but I'll try my best to not have that biased hatred show through my writing. **

**Have a great night!**


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer: I do not own XS. This work is entirely fanmade.**

_Seven_ Blood Bond_

The hills were green, just like her eyes.

Tala was looking at Mama, whose smile perked up her cheeks and crinkled the black markings, folding them like paper. With a strange hiss in her voice, she asked "Are you ready for some _fun_?"

Tala spoke, but the voice was not her own. It was deeper, older and spiced with excitement, "It's time to give what's due,"

She sounded like her Mama, the one she remembered; a smooth voice that was filled with kindness. But, the voice that spoke from _her_ held not a drop of it, as if it had never known that such a word existed.

Tala scanned the army standing before them in countless numbers. Each and every footsoldier held his breath and shook in his armor at the sight of them. It made Tala feel powerful. Not one would _dare_ try to harm her or her mother, not here. She had them at her mercy with a single stare. She smiled.

"Witches," called one of the men at the helm. There were four, each dressed in the colors of yellow, blue, black and orange. She knew who they were; there was no need for introductions. The one who had spoken out, the one in blue, was staring directly at her when he yelled, "Today is the day that your tyranny ends!"

Tyranny? Ha! Says the 'mighty' Xiaolin Dragons, such hypocrites!

Tala hated him, she hated _them,_ with all she was. Her hands burned with the ache to kill.

Mama took her hand and, startled by the sudden touch, Tala looked at her.

"Together?" she asked. Her genuine smile was twisted and wrong, made grotesque by the venomous light in her eyes. Murder was written within them.

"Together," said Tala.

She turned to the Dragons, and stared right back at the Fire Dragon, matching his glower with a challenging laugh.

"_Our_ tyranny?" she asked, "But my dear Shoku, what of yours?"

"You have terrorized our people for far too long," he shouted, "It is time for you and your sister to pay for the crimes that you have committed against all of China!"

"Shi-Ahn," said Mama quietly into Tala's ear, "We have all four of them here. Now is our chance."

"Patience, my sister," answered Tala, her eyes still upon the Shoku, "They will get what they _deserve _today, I promise."

'_Shi-Ahn_,' Tala registered slowly. That was Mama's name. This dream, she realized hollowly, was not truly her own.

The Shoku stepped forward, raring for a fight. The other three Dragons followed, stepping away from the army's front line and into the middle of the field. The wind blew at their backs and Tala could smell the fear of those weak and cowardly men standing with their flags, swords and spears. It excited her.

The Dragons, however, were calm. The Shoku, especially, held his resolve with overbearing confidence. From this distance she could see his face. It was grim, but Tala could smell the near taste of his arrogance. It was a heavy perfume that sickened her, sucking the fun out of watching his so called soldiers squirm.

Other than that, there was nothing really worth noting. Seeing through Mama's eyes, all of the humans looked the same to her; weak and miserable. If the Dragons were not wearing their respective colors, she would not have known one from the other, if the Shoku's smell had not already given him away.

"Wuya," said Tala, squeezing Wuya's hand, "Prepare yourself. We will have to be quick for this to work."

Wuya smiled, and squeezed back before releasing her hand and stepping in front of Tala to address the four Dragons, her voice rasping with anger, "Today is the day that _your _tyranny will end," she warned them, "No more will you hunt us down!"

"We have heaven on our side," said the Shoku, "The power of hope within us will _never_ be defeated by the darkness inside of your guideless hearts."

"_Please_," said Tala, "_We_ have the blood of our sisters on our side. And that is all we need, dear Shoku, to destroy your Cycle and your _precious_ Xiaolin Temple."

She thrusted her palms out, and a circle of blue surrounded them. The four men were trapped, back to back. "Now, Wuya!" she shouted, lifting her hands to build up the wall of the circle, shimmering with glamour.

Wuya immediately stretched out her hands, and began chanting; "The power of Fire be released from you, the power of Earth be released from you,"

"The power of Water be released from you," said Tala, "the power of Air be released from you."

Their voices blended as one, each chanting as the magic barrier shimmered, dancing faster and faster as their words picked up speed. Magic blasted through the barrier and hit them, nearly knocking Tala off balance. Wuya, too, seemed to be struggling to stay standing on her feet by the sheer force of energy plowing into them.

"Keep your ground!" shouted Tala above the swell, "We must finish this!"

She turned back to the men trapped within the wall of her spell, all screaming and pounding at her barrier in vain. They could not escape.

"Stop your screaming," she yelled at them, "We shall show no mercy, the same as you when my sisters screamed in the fires you burned for them! You deserve a fate far worse than this! The power of Water be released from you! The power of Air be released from you!"

Wuya chimed in, adding her own chants and voice, "The power of Fire be released from you! The power of Earth be released from you!"

"The power of Water come into me," said Tala, sucking the power in through her fingertips, "The power of Air come into me,"

Wuya did the same, "The power of Fire come into me. The power of Earth come into me,"

They continued their chanting until all was gone. The Dragon's powers were theirs. The Xiaolin would never misuse this magic against clan nor witch ever again.

She stood there, the warm magic still tingling up her arms as it slowly cooled and the men dropped to their knees. The barrier dissipated. Tala strode forward to address the crowd, all still neatly lined in their rows. Such silly little dolls, they were. Their lack of common sense, to run and preserve their own skins, made her laugh.

"My friends," she called, "Today is the day that the age of the Xiaolin Dragon Cycle ends."

She gestured to the men behind her with a sweep of her open palm. "These men you see before you," she told them, "Are no longer your protectors. The creatures that they had once hunted have rendered them helpless and now they are at our mercy. Flee now and save your own lives, or stay and die with them."

Turning her back on the army, she added darkly, "That is your choice,"

"What did you do to us?" asked the Earth Dragon, shaking as he tried to lift himself by his arms.

Tala looked down at him, frowning. "Spared your lives," she said, "_sadly_."

"We've taken your _magic_, fool," gloated Wuya, with a sharp laugh.

"That is correct," agreed Tala, "And now the Xiaolin Dragons will die, and their line will end."

"That is a lie!" said the Shoku, picking himself up, though doing a fairly poor job at it, "We will go on, so long as there is evil to defeat, such as _you_."

He rose, holding his ribs. "The Cycle of the Dragons will not end until the cruelty of the Heylin does," he vowed, "Magic or no magic, good will _always_ triumph over evil!"

"Are you sure about that?" she asked. With a grin aimed toward Wuya, she said, "Would you care to do the honors?"

"Gladly," she said. The ground shook as Wuya held her hands outstretched, "Time to see what my new powers can do!"

From the earth climbed up creatures made of stone, each one larger than the next, rising from all over the valley like spirits from their graves. Soldiers were thrown from where they stood as the beasts clawed themselves out of the ground, rising to the sky like pillars. The men began to scatter, screaming in terror. Pathetic little ants, the lot of them.

Tala looked back to Wuya. "Kill them all," she ordered.

Wuya smiled. "With pleasure,"

* * *

Tala was startled awake, shaken roughly by someone. She grabbed onto the person's arm and yanked them close, intending to throw her attacker, but a voice cried out "Wait, stop! It's me!"

Tala's eyes adjusted to the dim candlelight in the far corner. "Jia?" she asked, her old friend's face coming into focus. She sat up, and Jia leaned back to give her space, "What are you doing in my room?"

"I was ordered to wake you," she said, "Grand Master Wei is gathering everyone in the main courtyard. There has been an attack."

"An attack?" asked Tala, her heart pounding.

"It is better if you hear from the Grand Master rather than me," Jia answered, "I do not know all of the details."

She stood and Tala rose with her. "You should get dressed," suggested Jia, "I'll get your slippers."

Tala said nothing, still disturbed by her strange dream. She slipped into her robes and tied her belt, thinking about what had happened.

She had seen through Mama's eyes, but Mama would _never_ act so cruelly. And those emotions she had felt with it… the pleasure of hearing those men cry in agony made her shudder. That could not have been Mama. It was just another horrible dream, it had to be, like all the rest.

Doubt settled in snugly at the base of her heart as Tala braided her hair. That other woman she had mistaken for Mama before, who was she truly? Wuya was her name, she remembered, which she would have simply brushed aside if not for the fact that she had been dreaming and having visions for months about her.

Oh, what was she thinking! This Wuya was a figment of her nightmares and nothing more! She was a phantom, a mouthpiece for her fears. This dream woman was nothing.

Tala glared at herself in the mirror glass, willing her heart to calm down and for her head to take control of itself. "_Calma síos_," she told herself, "_Nach bhfuil sé fíor_."

"Tala," said Jia, "We should leave quickly."

Tala looked at her, exhausted and afraid. Jia's mouth dipped into a frown. Her eyebrows furrowed with worry. "Are you alright?" she asked.

"No," admitted Tala, "I don't think I am."

* * *

Tala snuck in, small enough to go unnoticed as she took her place beside Dashi and Chase. Guan was behind her, tall enough to see over the others' heads. The courtyard was packed like an overstuffed drawer; people were huddled together in each direction, squeezing in to hear the Grand Master's address to them. A hush fell over the crowd when he lifted his hands to silence their murmuring.

"I have grave news," he told them. The Grand Master's voice shook like the skeleton leaves rattling against the cold wind in the trees above, "I have heard reports from the monasteries in the Northern Mountains; a witch has begun making her way toward the Xiaolin Temple."

A collective gasp rippled through the crowd. Harsh whispers of fear crescendoed into the air like a flock of birds, suddenly in a panic. Tala tensed, the heat within her hands rising up to her neck like the heckles of a startled cat.

She instinctively took a half-step back and accidentally bumped into Guan. A gasp bubbled out of her as she looked up to see his worried face towering above her.

"Are you alright?" he asked, but Tala was silent, swallowing the sand grinding against the back of her mouth.

She righted herself and began wringing the hem of her robe, focusing on nothing but her inner thoughts. Her vision blurred as she reasoned that her dreams of witches and magic might not have been just dreams…. But that was silly, wasn't it?

She jumped when a warm hand took one of hers. Chase squeezed it lightly, though he was looking at Grand Master Wei and nothing on his face indicated that he had even acknowledged her distress. Still, the heavy weight on her palm was a comfort, which Tala took gladly. She squeezed back, and he let go.

"There is no need for us to panic," assured the Grand Master boldly, "We have nothing to fear from this monster!"

He swept an arm, gesturing toward the Xiaolin apprentices, his golden winter robes shimmering under the moonlight, saying "The Elemental Cycle has been completed once more! The Xiaolin Dragons are more powerful than they have been in over three centuries! They will protect us and we shall not fall under the weight of Heylin tyranny!"

Chase stepped forward, and joined the Grand Master at his side. His back was rigid when he also addressed the crowd. With a fist held high in the air, he spoke; "Do not worry, we will not fail you. My fellow apprentices and I have the favor of heaven. As the Grand Master says, the Cycle is now whole and, united, we are strong. This witch will stand _no_ chance against us!"

The crowd cheered with him, though the veil of uncertainty and wariness still clung to the air around the courtyard. Tala could feel it circling like a predator, slowly weaving its way between each person as a snake glides across the earth.

The cold wind licked at the back of her neck, sending a chill up Tala's spine. Heat prickled her hands at the surprise, but the magic's defensiveness did not fade as the wind died down again. Instead, it intensified and Tala could feel the weight of eyes upon her shoulders. She brushed it off, knowing that she and the other Dragon apprentices were at the center of the crowd's attention.

* * *

Fools, all of them fools.

As the Fire monk addressed the crowd, all bravado and awashed in the adoration of those sniveling cowards, Wuya watched from the shadows of the rooftop. She took refuge beneath one of the small watch towers, hiding behind the glare of the torch bowl's flame as it lit up the courtyard below.

She crouched, eyes focused on the four children whose blood she would soon be bathing in. The Xiaolin apprentices, _ha_! Pigs, the lot of them, no more fit to protect the world than those maids cowering around them in the cold.

Of course, she had not come to destroy them just yet; not tonight. No, Wuya was here regarding another matter.

Her fingers curled around the pendant tightly, warming the cool metal with her touch. The pointed sides dug into her palm, reminding her to stay patient. Shi-Ahn's death would not be in vain.

She let her other hand linger over the torch bowl as she watched the apprentices huddle together. Her palm caressed the fire idly. Instead of burning her, the flames around her hand glowed green. They danced between her fingers affectionately, an old friend.

Her lips curled into a smile when she spotted her target. Dressed in the yellow robes of the Air monk, and small enough to almost be left unnoticed, was Tala. Even though she was adorned in the guise of a human, and her hair passably black and tamed into braids, she could see so much of Shi-Ahn in her. There was the blood of a true witch lying beneath the surface of the girl's facade.

"_There_ you are," she whispered, "I have been looking everywhere for you."

Now would be her chance, if any, to finish what her sister had started. With Tala at her side, and with the skills Wuya would teach her, the pair would be unstoppable and the Xiaolin Dragons' line would end _permanently_.

"You don't have to worry anymore, Tala," she said, "Auntie's here."

* * *

A hand slapped over Tala's mouth, startling her awake.

Instantly reacting, her magic tossed the attacker away, but they sprang back upon her in a flash. Like ropes, the assailant's fingers wrapped themselves around Tala's wrists, pinning them above her head.

Tala kicked their stomach, but whomever it was grappling with her in the dark did not even flinch. Instead, they grunted painfully, a winded voice saying "Enough,"

"Get off of me," Tala hissed, but her attacker instead pressed their weight more firmly against her.

"Listen to me," they insisted with a harsh whisper, "I'm trying to tell you something!"

Tala said nothing, but hooked her legs around the towering figure and flipped them. Straddling them, she went for a punch, but she was too slow. The other person blocked the punch and flipped her over again, this time keeping Tala down with their knees. The air rushed out of Tala's stomach as they leaned down, focusing the full weight on her abdomen. She could not protest this time.

Tala's hands were once again above her head, and the more she struggled, the harder it was to breathe. This person, whomever it was, knew it and with a calloused chuckle alarmingly close to her ear said, "Well, now Tala, since I've finally got your attention, I have a message for you."

Tala gasped for air, fighting for breath along with her freedom.

"Calm _down_," snapped the attacker, "You're going to pass out, if you don't conserve your energy."

With a growl, Tala stopped moving, tensing with anger. The hands holding her wrists shifted until only one clamped them together firmly. The other, now free, stroked Tala's cheek with its knuckles lightly.

"Try to relax," the voice instructed, "Tensing wastes energy, too. We also don't want your magic to build up too fast. You won't be able to control it, and we don't want anybody to get _hurt_, now do we?"

Tala turned her face away from the touch as if the hand had slapped her. Though a full year had passed since, the memory of Chase hitting the tree was still vivid in her mind. She had never truly forgiven herself for it.

"_Oooh,_" cooed the voice with hissing glee, "Someone already _has_, haven't they? A friend? A _lover_, perhaps?"

Tala did not respond. The voice goaded her more. "Hit a _nerve_, did I?" it snapped, "Don't worry, I know you couldn't _possibly_ have kill them. You're still too soft to have seen your first blood… But, with a little _guidance_, that problem can be fixed, I assure you."

Tala whipped her head back to bite the fingers, which just narrowly avoided her teeth. Quicker than she was, the hand covered Tala's mouth again, as hard and as cold as steel upon her lips.

"But the time for idle chit-chat ends now," the voice sang, "Like I said, I have a message, and you need to hear it."

The hand lifted from her mouth, and with the snap of fingers, green flames, brighter than jade, flashed above its fingers. Gazing down at her under the fire's' flickering glow, was the face from her nightmares.

Tala could not tell the eye color, for it matched the color of the flames, but the demonically twisted smile and black markings fanning out from beneath the woman's eyes were identical to the phantom she had come to know as Wuya.

Tala's pulse quickened, as her hands began to burn. They itched while she fought the panic rising within her chest. The woman chided Tala with a click of her tongue.

"Now, now," she said, "Don't be frightened, sweetheart. I'm _only_ here to help,"

She blew the fire from her fingers and the room, once again, became pitch black. Tala heard the snap of fingers again as the candle beside her head was lit. The green flame fizzled down into the familiar yellow glow as the witch picked the candlestick up and held it in her hand.

The room began to fill with soft, grey light, by magic, as if the dawn were rising. Though the candle did not brighten the room completely, Tala could make out the dark shade of red in the woman's hair. However, the eyes were shaded too darkly against her already dark skin, muddied by the twilight grey, and remained a mystery. The woman let go of the candle and it floated beside her head, bobbing.

She sat up, leaning just enough away to give Tala the release of pressure to breathe. She could not move, nevertheless, but she could finally speak. Catching her breath with the much missed air, she said, "Wuya,"

"Tala," answered the witch flatly.

"Who are you?"

"You already answered that one, kiddo," said Wuya, "Sheesh, you thick in the head or what?"

"No," said Tala, quick to her own defense, "I mean, _who_ are you? Why have you been in my dreams? Why are you _attackin_g me?"

Wuya rolled her eyes and folded her arms. Pursing her lips, she said, "I'm guessing Shi-Ahn never really told you about me."

Tala stayed silent, glaring at the witch, trying to think of a way to catch her off guard and attack.

"Well, judging by your so-called _dreams_," continued Wuya, "It looks like my signals have been getting to you."

"Your 'signals' have been giving me nightmares for the past year and a half," snapped Tala. Her hands burned as her anger rose, "Just what the _hell _were you trying to accomplish?"

"Your voice is _really_ annoying," sneered the witch, "did you know that?"

"And your vague dancing around is really annoying!" Tala shot back.

"If you'd just shut _up_ for a minute," Wuya told her, "I'd be able to tell you."

Tala bit her own tongue, sucking in a deep breath to steady herself. She needed to stay calm, whatever that definition had to be at the moment, in order to think of a plan.

"You keep talking about a message," said Tala, "What is it?"

"_Finally_," groaned Wuya, "Sit up."

She unhooked something from around her, neck and pulled a palm-sized pendant from beneath her dress, tugging it gingery out from her high collar. Tala wriggled out from under her and folded her legs together, watching Wuya with wariness.

Wuya handed the pendant to Tala. It was heavy, and seemed far larger in her hands. A ruby was cut into the middle of it, shining oddly under the ashy light. The iron around the gem was shaped into three crescents on the east, west, and southern points, suspended by rods against the plate holding the ruby. It was a strange shape which, though she could not place why, reminded her of an eye. She turned it, the flash of the ruby under the gaze of the floating candle winking at her.

"That was your mother's," said Wuya, "The symbol of the Mountain Clan."

Tala's glaring eyes flickered to Wuya, untrusting. Cautious, she said, "Mama told me night stories about the Mountain Clan sometimes, but she never mentioned this."

"She hid it from you, then," answered Wuya. She did not look to happy about that, "She and I were the daughters of the Matriarch. As our mother's heir, the symbol was passed down to Shi-Ahn."

"Why do _you_ have it, then?" muttered Tala.

"Because your mother gave it to me," Wuya snapped back, her own glower flaring the familiar and frightening green before dying back down, "She had asked _me_ to take her place. _Me_, when there was nothing left to take the place _of_!"

"So you decided to find me," Tala concluded angrily, "to give _me_ the place instead."

"_What_? No, no, no, that's not it at _all_," assured Wuya, breaking her serious character with a wave of her hands, "I came to find you, to _show_ you, what your mother had really intended for you, as her daughter."

"And, _that_ would be?"

Wuya's face contorted into a feral smile, much like the one in Tala's dream. With a chuckle, she said, "To _rule_."

Tala sat back, her shock a little more than feigned. She hardly believed what Wuya had said, but even so, Tala could taste bitterness on her tongue from the venomous way the witch had spat out her words.

"You know I'm right, Tala," said Wuya, but Tala had something she knew would discredit all Wuya had been saying about her mother.

"No," said Tala flatly, squinting her skepticism, "you're not."

"Pardon?" hissed Wuya through her pointed teeth, raising an eyebrow by her own disbelief.

"I know that you are wrong," Tala stated simply, "My mother would never hurt anyone. She loved me, and everyone knows that monsters feel no love, no matter what those twisted nightmares you put into my head tell me."

"You didn't really know Shi-Ahn, then," Wuya growled, "She was your mother, but she was no saint. You know she killed those children, deep down, I _know_ you do."

"You say," said Tala, feeling rather confident, "that I did not know my mother, but did _you_? She never left our farm, not once, not even when my sister died. She could not have killed anybody, least of all the village children."

"Shi had her ways," said Wuya with her own smirk, "My sister was a powerful witch. Not as powerful as _me_, mind you, but still; Shi-Ahn always knew how to be resourceful."

"I don't believe you!" shouted Tala, "Besides, how can I, anyway, when my mother has never even breathed one word about you? How can I be so sure that what you say is true? _Any_ of it, even?"

"I knew about _you_, didn't I?"

Wuya's confident smile, cocky and cheery, unnerved her. Wuya leaned back, with a deep chuckle. Tala wondered if she was savoring the build up, watching her squirm.

After the long, painful seconds of silence, the witch said, "As Shi-Ahn died, she sent her memories to me. All were of you: Your birth, your sister's death, the year you spent wandering around aimlessly without her, your father _begging _Shi-Ahn not to go out after those boys! Oh, it was all so _sad_, really."

Tala froze.

No one but she and Papa knew about what had happened to Meilin, what had really made her sick. Tala could still remember how cold Meilin's skin was, from the ice water dripping from her hair and down her back. Her hands shook at the memory of how blue Meilin's lips were. No matter how hard she tried, how tightly she held her sister, she could not get Meilin warm enough to stop shivering.

Tala raged with the memory, her hands burning in contrast to the hollow coldness in her chest.

So, that was what had happened to Mama. Tala had always been confused as to why Papa had warned her not to tell Mama what had really happened, that Meilin had not just slipped into the river while they were playing. She understood why now, if what Wuya said was the truth. Papa must have told Mama why Meilin could not stop coughing. The year of silence had gotten to him, and Mama...

"You're lying!" Tala cried, not wanting to believe, "I never saw her leave! She never left the mat that night, she didn't!"

Wuya's smirk widened, showing her horrible fangs. "That's because she didn't want you to," she gloated.

Tala could not breathe. She clutched at her stomach, feeling sick. "No, you're lying," she whispered, eyes hazing with heat from tears still yet to form, "Mama didn't, she couldn't have, she-"

Tala crumpled. Fear, anger and despair rushed into her stomach all at once and Tala had to swallow down the bile that heaved up into her throat. She coughed, from the harshness still burning through her chest, as she cried. "I hate you," she whimpered through her panicking, "I hate you,"

"It doesn't matter if you hate me," said Wuya, "You don't even have to trust me."

She began rubbing Tala's back lightly, the warmth of her hand calming down whatever protests still jabbed at Tala's stomach. Tala did not bother shaking her off.

"But," cooed Wuya, "what you _need_ to do is avenge your mother."

"_Avenge_?" Tala nearly laughed, appalled.

"It was her dying wish, after all," sang Wuya, "And I'm the one who is supposed to help you fulfill it."

Tala glared at Wuya from beneath the curtain of her black hair. "No," she snapped, "I want _nothing_ from you."

"You'll be taking that back, once you realize what I'm offering," said Wuya with a shrug, "You still can't keep a good grip on your _magic_, right?"

Tala set her jaw, angry at herself for admitting that Wuya was right.

"I'll take that as a yes," said Wuya.

One more second of that arrogant smile, and Tala would rip it off of her. Her hands burned, agreeing with the intent, and more than happy to oblige.

"Do you want to _control _your powers?" asked Wuya slyly, "If I had found you earlier, you would not have had to live in fear of yourself for this long. Honestly, I'd blame your father for that one, if I were you."

"Don't you bring my _Papa_ into this!"

"_He's _the one that dumped you among your kind's worst enemy," said Wuya, "not me,"

"He was protecting me," said Tala.

"He _knew_ this was the Xiaolin Temple, and he left you here anyway."

"He _didn't_ have a _choice_,"

"Believe what you want," dismissed Wuya, with a wave of her hand, "The past is the past, anyway. Right now, you need to focus on the future and, from what I see, yours is going to involve a burning stake if you just keep sliding by like you have, _hoping_ your magic doesn't slip up and kill somebody."

"I've kept it from killing _you_ so far, haven't I?" Tala challenged, balling her fists. The heat flared, egging her anger on.

"Woah, ho, ho!" laughed Wuya, "Slow your roll, there kid! I can hardly understand you! _Seriously_, did you just happen _pick up_ on Carel's accent naturally, or did you have to actually _work _at it for you to sound like that?"

Tala rolled her eyes. Folding her arms, she said "It doesn't matter how I sound to you. You will not be hearing my voice again, after tonight."

Wuya's smile twisted into a sneer; "You're dead set on that, aren't you?"

"I don't care what you have to offer me," vowed Tala, "I don't want it."

Wuya harrumphed, and looked a bit defeated. Turning her back, she said, "Well, I suppose I should just give up then."

Tala knew that was a lie. This was far from over, whether she liked it or not.

"I guess you're just going to have to manage your _unlimited_ power on your own," said Wuya, feigning deep concern, "Never mind that I'm trying to help."

"Just get out," muttered Tala.

Wuya turned back to her, now smiling cheerfully. "Oh well, I tried," she said a little too quickly, "But, do me a favor, and think about it, won't you?"

She stood, and Tala stood with her, refusing to give Wuya an advantage. Tala tossed her the pendant saying, "Here, you can have this back."

Wuya tossed it back. "Keep it," she said, "It's yours. Think of it as a gift."

"I already said that I want nothing from you,"

"A gift from your mother," corrected Wuya, with a green flick of her eyes.

Not knowing how to respond, Tala stood silently, looking down at the pendant in her hand.

"Look, kid," said Wuya. Tala looked up at her. Both Wuya's face and voice were solemn, "I'll be back in a couple of days for your answer. If you still don't want to at least _try_ training with me by then, I'll leave you alone."

"Fine," Tala clipped.

Wuya jumped up onto the windowsill, crouching like a cat, one arm leaning against the frame to hold her steady.

Looking back at Tala, she said "Don't get caught," and jumped.

The candle that had been floating dropped and went out, leaving Tala alone in the darkness again.

* * *

**AN: Hello, everyone! I'll be taking a break from EoD for a while. NanoWriMo is starting, and I'm participating in it this year, so I need to put most, if not all, of my focus on getting that project done. Wish me luck!**

**-TNIB**


	8. Chapter 8

**Disclaimer: I do not own XS. This work is entirely fanmade.**

_Eight_ Overlap_

In the dark of her room, Tala sat in silence.

She had not thought about her sister for a year, and suddenly, at the hands of a witch, her head became filled with those memories again. At the edge of the darkness that flooded all of her senses, such a heavy dark that it was hard to know if she herself was even real, images of Meilin danced in flashes of light, seconds at a time. They flared like fireflies, blinking.

Melin was two years Tala's elder, with soft hair as red as Mama's, and skin as pale as Papa's. Her eyes were round and sharp. They were dark like Papa's, and seemed a bit big for her face, but they still held the almond familiarity of the other village folk, especially when she smiled.

She missed the way how Meilin always got red in summer, and Tala remembered poking at her as a little girl, watching her skin go yellow, then fade back to red after a long day under the sun.

Meilin would look twice as pale in winter. Tala wondered if there could have been some magic in her too, the way her veins showed on her arms so bright and so blue, like rivers joining and flowing together. Yes, some people were paler than others, especially in the cold, but Meilin had a way about her, changing from summer red to winter white as quickly as she did, that mystified Tala. She had often wished that she could change like that too.

Meilin was twelve, the age Tala was now, when she had died from winter fever. However, the truth was that Meilin had been murdered, though the death had come slowly and painfully. Tala had tried so hard to forget, but the phantoms of that day still haunted her.

They had been playing by the riverbank just beyond the rice fields. It was the only place the girls were allowed to go to on their own; it was secluded there, and Mama said that it was safer than the dusty roads where the other children played. She never told them why.

It was the dead of winter and the snow had freshly fallen. Tala loved sliding along the thickened ice of the river, much against Meilin's protesting. She always loved teasing Meilin, running just out of her reach whenever she tried to pull Tala away from her fun. Tala was adventurous, especially when Meilin scolded her for going too far from home. As a game, Tala would continue her exploring, pretending to be oblivious just to spite her elder sister, and would ask if the wind was calling her the louder Meilin's shouting became.

That cold, snowy day had been no different. The ground was packed with snow, so thick that the children's legs sunk down into it when they clambered over the hill. Papa had been chopping wood for heat near by, and the girls had gone to play at the riverbank to stay out of his way without straying too far. They should never have left his sight, but Tala had wandered off much farther than she should have, teasing Meilin by pretending to be deaf to her reprimands.

Tala closed her eyes, breathing slowly, fighting to keep the memory clear, though her body shook with held back tears and whimpers. It did not matter; her eyes saw darkness, whether opened or closed. She felt safer, though, squeezing them shut.

She could still see the footprints trailing from the riverbank behind her in the thin layer of white over the ice, when she looked back at her sister, ordering Tala not to move. The forest behind was dead silent, so when Tala heard the laughter of those boys, echoing through the bare branches, it sounded like a chorus of wolves. They might as well have been.

Meilin spotted them, before Tala could turn her head toward the sound, and rushed onto the river. She lost her balance, but grabbed Tala's arm, and yanked her back with such a force that Tala slipped and slid back, behind Meilin.

Tala clung to a branch rising from the ice, and she had barely looked up in time to see Meilin staring down four elder boys. They were yelling slurs at her, calling her '_fire head_,' '_round eyes_,' and '_witchling_,' as Meilin screamed at them to leave her and Tala alone, throwing snow at them. Meilin screamed at Tala to go, to find Papa. She did not have to say it twice.

Tala remembered running, screaming and crying so desperately for Papa, that her voice had become her enemy. It choked her when she found him. He did not need to hear her voice. Papa ran to help Meilin, taking his axe. He had told her to stay by the cart, but Tala was too scared to be alone. She followed him, anyway.

They came to the riverbank, and saw that Meilin had fallen through thin ice. Every time she tried to pull herself out, the boys pushed her back down again, taking turns and laughing as she cried, gasping for air each time. Papa chased them away with his hollering voice and swinging axe, but Meilin had already stopped moving when he pulled her from the water.

Papa bundled her up in his cloak, as Tala helplessly watched him pick her up into his arms, crying. The only other thing she could remember as vividly as the rest was Meilin's own crying when she began to breathe again, asking for Mama. Tala slept close to her that night, feeling her skin, still so cold, as if she had carried the river itself underneath her skin, shiver against her. Then the coughing started.

It began a fortnight later. The fever came soon after, and, by the end of winter, Meilin had passed on.

Papa swore Tala to secrecy. Mama was to never know what had happened. They told Mama a different tale, one of Meilin slipping through thin ice as she and Tala played, to explain why she had come home so cold, weak, and shivering, with her hair and clothes dripping wet, sodden down with ice and snow.

Tala stopped being adventurous after that. She stopped climbing trees and sliding on the icy river. She never played, not even when Papa sang his strange songs, or when Mama took her hands to dance. Never again, not without her sister.

"I'm so sorry, Meilin," Tala whispered into the darkness.

She felt the hot tears roll down her chin. Her chest tightened with panic, when she choked down her self hatred, and still she let the memories flow. Tala needed to let them run their course. She had buried those memories for too long, trying to forget. Meilin deserved more than that.

Tala lay down on her mat, curling into herself. She shivered when she pulled the blanket over her shoulder. As she drifted back to sleep, the last image that flashed across Tala's mind was Meilin curled up beside her, shivering too.

* * *

Tala suppressed a yawn. The cold was all that was keeping her awake. She was exhausted, thanks to that horrid old hag. Tala blinked, trying to keep her eyes focused on Grand Master Wei, as he drank his tea. He sat opposite of her, looking much like a peacock in his colorful winter robes, simmering blue and green against the white snow behind him.

Tala and Chase had not met the Grand Master in his quarters, as they had assumed they would. Instead, Grand Master Wei asked for them to come to the Dragons' Garden, in order to discuss what had happened the night before. The three of them sat under the ornate pavilion, their only shelter from the lightly falling snow gathering among the boulders and leafless shrubs that littered the grounds.

Grand Master Wei's ever vigilant eunuch stood to the side behind him, fanning the outdoor cooking pot that was warming several small loaves of bread. His eyes darted from his work to Tala, wide and worried. She looked away from the eunuch, her eyes matching the same roundness of his, when the Grand Master began to speak.

"So," he said, voice deep and grave, "All you've managed to do, after a year of training, is to turn an old wall crack into an even larger one."

Chase stiffened beside Tala, but both remained silent. Tala wrung her hands out of habit, though her magic did not burn her this time.

"The two of you are lucky," continued Grand Master Wei sternly, "That I was able to cover up that noise you made so easily."

He placed his tea down and snapped his fingers. The eunuch quickly handed him a plate with one of the heated rolls, still steaming, with nervous, shaking hands. The Grand Master cut through the bun, the heat within it escaping into the air as fog, and he said, "A storm was approaching from the south. Nothing to worry about, just passing through, but the thunder could still be heard overhead as it rolled toward the north. _That_ is what you will say if anyone is to question you, understood?"

Both Chase and Tala nodded, but the Grand Master was not finished. His dark eyes flicked a glare at them both, holding them with latent anger.

"I am very disappointed in you both," he told them, though his eyes fell onto Tala especially, "I expected better of two Dragon hopefuls."

His eyes then fell upon Chase. Tala did not know that they could have looked any more cross, but the brown of them darkened with a glint of vexation when they looked at him.

"I expected more, especially from _you_, Chase," said the Grand Master, with his voice verging onto a growl, "You are a Wudai Warrior, and _favorite_ for the Shoku position, yet it seems that you cannot even keep a proper eye on your young charge, here. My eunuch, Yat-sen, tells me that Tala had nearly been hurt, under your urging to continue with the stance when she and her magic were under distress. How can I expect you to lead three other Dragons, if you cannot even handle leading _one_ Trainee?"

Chase bowed, and out of the corner of her eye, Tala could see him visibly shaking with anger. "Yes, Grand Master," he mumbled through his teeth.

"To become a proper Shoku Warrior, you _must_ be more vigilant," Grand Master Wei told Chase calmly, his voice no longer harsh, "A good leader _listens_ to those who are under his guidance, and does not ignore them when there is a problem. He does not strain his warriors past their abilities; he does not tear them down when they are weak, but raises them up to places higher than they have ever been. He does this, not by pushing them, but by loving them. If you cannot do this, then my eyes will look to another for the position, whether you _are_ a prodigy or not."

"Yes, Grand Master," said Chase again, just barely a whisper.

Tala saw his fingers curl in, though he stayed in his bow. His eyes were steely, filled with the same fire she had seen many times in the eyes of his father, bringing back the memory of when Master Young had spoken his hatred to Tala in her quarters. It frightened her to see that rage coming from her friend.

Grand Master Wei, again, set his sights on Tala and, though his voice was gentle, the sudden calling of her name made Tala jump.

"Yes, sir?" she asked.

"Report," ordered the Grand Master, "How much more have you improved in your training?"

"I beg your pardon, Grand Master," she said, bowing, as Chase did, "but I am still a Trainee. My progress has not been very smooth, and my magic is still limited, but I,"

The Grand Master waved off her words. "Enough," he told her, "I've heard enough,"

"What's clear to me," he said, flicking his fingers to signal to both warriors that they could rise, "is that I have been far too lax with the both of you."

He looked them each square in the eye. "Yat-sen has told me," he said to Tala, "how your magic reacted when you channeled it through your movements. It was powerful, but you must learn how to keep yourself in control of it upon release. You've nearly blasted Chase, Yat-sen, _and_ yourself away, when you became nervous and lost your focus. However, this proves that there _is_ a way to reconnect magic with the martial arts."

To Chase, he added, with a slight nod and approving smile, "We have you to thank for that, Chase. If you had not suggested channeling, Tala would not have climbed this intriguing step. My order to you now is to become a tutor to Tala, not just her guardian. Train her well, young monk."

He glanced at Tala, his smile dropping to a serious line. "You are to have Chase accompany you during every magic session that you have, in order for him to give you the extra training and assistance you need, so that you may explore this possibility further," he told her sternly, "Is my order understood?"

Tala nodded to him, wringing her hands. This was the last thing she wanted, but there was no helping it now. An order directly from the Grand Master could not be challenged; his word was the law.

"Yes, Grand Master," she told him, accepting the command with a formal bow.

However, there _was_ a second option, one that Tala considered taking, should all else fail. If she could manage to pull it off, Tala would be able to not only to control her magic, but find the very answer the Grand Master and her friends were looking for.

She was going to say yes.

* * *

Wuya reappeared four nights later. It was after Tala had returned from a night of training with Chase under the willow tree, and had just barely nestled beneath her blankets, that Wuya shook her awake.

"Tala," hissed the hag, roughly pushing Tala off of her mat, "_get _up!"

Neither bothered to light a candle. Tala had decided it was best for Wuya not see the seething hatred on her face. Instead, Tala lay on the floor, sprawled out like a starfish, and stared up at the black ceiling. "I really do _hate _you," she muttered under her breath.

Tala heard Wuya snort, and then was dragged by the collar of her night dress, forced to sit up. Green fire glowed beneath the witch's face, cradled menacingly by her hooked fingers. A gleaming smile, with dagger-like teeth, widened out of her full lips. It was all Tala could do not to appear too disgusted by the way Wuya's nose crinkled, and how her eyes sparkled with twisted joy. The pure malice in them made her feel ill.

"I believe you have something to tell me," said the witch, as sweetly as honey, and as sickening as blood.

"Yes," said Tala, doing her best to match the witch's horrible smile, mostly to cover up her utter revulsion at this grotesque mockery of her mother, "I do."

She had to make this perfect, in order to look convincing. Tala took a breath, and they both grew still. The room was so silent, that Tala heard the whips of the fire dancing as it lit the space between her and Wuya. She tapped her fingers together, trying to focus, when her hands began to burn; _One, two, three, four, one, two, three, four_.

"_Well_?" Wuya coaxed, raising a suspicious eyebrow, "Don't leave me in suspense, kid."

"Yes," said Tala, upon the release of her breath. The heat in her hands subsided simultaneously with it, "_Yes_, I shall accept your offer to teach me how to control my powers."

Wuya's smile widened, not with joy, but as a predator, whose prey had fallen into her trap, "Excellent."

Tala did not like the looks of this, and knew very well that she could have been setting herself up for death, but there was no turning back. Tala understood that it would have to be through her that the Xiaolin Dragons would reclaim their lost magic, just as the Grand Master believed that she would. Tala was also of certain of one thing. She could feel it in her gut that, if anything could help her to find the answer to reawakening the lost Xiaolin magic, then Wuya and her secrets would be it.

Grand Master and Chase, forgive her, it had to be done.

* * *

**AN: So, change of plans. I have to quit NanoWriMo. My grandmother died on the 5th, and her funeral is tomorrow. My word count was already low, but with the preparations for her funeral, I have fallen way behind, and I don't see myself catching up anytime soon. I'm still working on the novel, but it won't be finished by the end of November, I'm certain of that.**

**In fact, the only reason I was really able to put this chapter up tonight was because I already had it half way done when NanoWriMo started, and I felt that ever elusive spark of inspiration for this project. However, you guys still, most likely, won't be seeing me until December, thanks to some things coming up, anyway. **

**-TNIB**


End file.
